Star Wars: A Legacy
by crc152
Summary: The Skywalker legacy is both a blessing and a curse...
1. Chapter 1

Everything belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney except my own character, Kira.

* * *

 _A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away..._

Poe woke with a jolt, immediately turning over to lean on his hands and knees while coughing and trying to bring more air into his lungs. He looked up and squinted at the bright sun, waiting for his vision to adjust to the bright light.

As the memories of what just happened to him started to come back, he slowly got up and started to look around for the stolen TIE fighter. Taking in his surroundings, he was met only with the barren endless sand of Jakku.

He had been aiming to go back to the village he had left BB-8 at, hoping follow the droids trail. But a First Order missile hit them, after Finn had been too distracted to shoot it down.

FINN! Poe realized his companion was nowhere to be seen.

"Finn!" he called out to the desert. Had his new friend managed to eject from the fighter in time? "Finn!"

When he was met with nothing but the shrill of the wind, he dipped his head sadly, letting out a deep breath. Realizing he better start looking for a way back to the Resistance, he started walking.

* * *

Kira set her ship down right outside of the small settlement of Cratertown.

 _Jakku…_ she thought with a sneer, of course she had to run out of fuel near the desert planet. This place was so depressing, reminding Kira of some not-so-pleasant memories. As she lowered the ramp, she grabbed her blaster, hooking it onto her belt, then made her way to the ramp.

A small set of beeps made her stop and turn around.

"No Artoo, you stay here", she told the astromech droid as she wrapped her scarf around her head, covering most of her dirty blonde locks. "If someone spots you here, they'll jump on you and try to take you for parts. Stay here and watch the ship."

Artoo beeped a short response and watched as his mistress started making her way towards the small settlement, closing the ramp behind her.

* * *

Poe let out a small breath of relief as a settlement finally came into his vision. He trudged forward, pushing himself despite his injuries. He grunted as each step he took sent a searing pain up his body. As he entered the village, he took in his surroundings. There was mostly just family homes scattered around, but an area with a few small buildings sat in the middle.

 _Someone around here has to have access to a ship_ , Poe thought, as he started over to the center of town.

He entered the first building, which was filled with spare parts of droids and ships. A human male stood at the counter, working on a small droid head.

"Excuse me", Poe said, slowly approaching him. "Is there anyone around here that could give me a ride off planet?"

Without looking up, the man scoffed and shook his head, "Off planet? You'd be lucky to find a ride to Nima Outpost."

Before Poe could utter a response, a voice interrupted him.

"I need a tank of fuel, Rhydonium preferably."

The man grunted and walked off to retrieve the new customer's request, and Poe turned to see the newcomer.

She was tiny, a whole head shorter than him, but didn't look any less tough. Poe could see the outline of her toned arms through her faded green sleeves and a blaster hanging from her hip. Her blonde hair reached her mid-back, peeking out from under the sarf she had wrapped around her head.

"Could you stop staring at me, please?" she said annoyed, finally looking over to him.

"I'm sorry, I just…" Poe stammered as his dark eyes met her blue ones. "Did you just say you needed fuel?"

"Yes…" she answered slowly, still wary of him.

"As in you have a ship?" he asked, hopeful.

The shopkeeper returned then and handed the girl her fuel, while she gave him the appropriate credits and then quickly walked out without answering Poe.

"Hey! Wait!" Poe said, as he attempted to run after her, but only succeeding in awkwardly stumbling while catching up to her.

"What?!" she snapped, turning to look at him.

"I need a ride off planet", he told her quickly. "I don't have any credits on me now, but I can promise you'll get a handsome fee once we get to our destination."

She looked him up and down and then responded cooly, "I don't take passengers."

Poe trudged after her as she turned to walk away again.

"Look, I really need your help. I'd get a ship and get off myself if there was one available, I'm a pilot", he hastily explained.

At that, she stopped and turned back to look at him again.

"You're a pilot?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "For who? You're definitely not with the First Order, and I'd almost believe you flew for the Republic if it wasn't for the fact that you're out here, on your own without a squad."

"How do you know I'm not?" he quizzed her.

"Because of what I just said: you're here. On Jakku, the Republic has less interest in this system then the First Order does", she said crossing her arms.

"You sure have a lot of knowledge on Republic affairs", Poe pointed out.

"Plus", she continued, ignoring his statement and taking a step closer to him while looking over his badly bruised body again. "You're obviously trying to run from something."

Poe cocked his head at her, daring her to come to the correct conclusion.

"You're with the Resistance", she said softly, looking straight into his eyes.

"You're observant", he responded.

Before their little back and forth could continue, they both looked up to the sky as they heard the familiar screeching of TIE fighters, and saw two fly right over the village.

"Looks as though they're heading to Nima Outpost", the girl said, sensing Poe tense.

Poe grabbed her wrist, making her look sharply back to him, then down at his hand on her arm, and then back up at his face.

"Please", he begged. "Just get me to the closest system where I can get my own ship. That's all I ask."

Before she could respond or tell him to let go of her wrist, they were interrupted by a harsh voice behind her.

"Hey! You two! Show some identification!"

Poe swallowed as he took in the small squadron of stormtroopers.

"Go check through the village. The wreckage isn't far, they might be here", the top officer told two others, leaving only three behind.

Kriff, they were looking for him.

"Well, let's go!" he told them again, blaster in hand.

Poe had not let go of the girls hand, and she had not turned around. She met his eyes, and then purposefully glanced down at her belt, urging him to do the same.

 _Her blaster!_

"Alright that's it, y-" the trooper started as he walked closer to them, but was cut off as Poe quickly grabbed her blaster off her hip as she turned and delivered a swift kick to the head troopers face, knock him down. Poe shot the two behind him before they could react.

"Let's go!" she said and they took off with her in the lead.

* * *

Kira shook her head as they ran. Was she really doing this? Helping a Resistance pilot run from the First Order?

 _I couldn't just let him die, not by them….by him_ , she told herself.

Still, this wasn't smart. She'd successfully stayed clear of both the Resistance and the First Order since this whole mess started. And she would prefer it stay that way.

She'd drop the pilot off on the nearest hospitable planet and that'd be it. She'd disappear again.

Kira took out her com quickly and spoke into it.

"Artoo, lower the ramp and get the ship ready for takeoff, we've got to make a quick get away!"

She almost breathed a sigh of relief when her ship came into view.

Almost.

They weren't away yet.

As they ran up the ramp, well she ran, he limped, she made her way to the controls.

The pilot collapsed into the copilot's chair not long after.

"Did you see any TIEs in the area?" she asked him as she started the takeoff sequence.

"No, I think you were right, they were all headed to Nima", he said.

"Better not to take any chances", she muttered. "Artoo, get the shields up!"

As she left the atmosphere and got out of range of any near ships, she finally let out that sigh of relief.

"So…" the pilot said awkwardly. "I'm Poe, Poe Dameron."

She almost laughed at how random that was.

"Don't you think that's a little dangerous?" she asked, not looking at him. "Telling me your name? I could be a First Order spy for all you know."

"Nah, I don't think so", he said as a sly smirk appeared on his face.

"Why not? I could be", she insisted.

"Because I have a feeling that you didn't just save me from those troopers out of the goodness of your heart", he told her. "You were running from them too."

"How could you possibly know that?" Kira asked, starting to get irritated with his smugness.

"I read people well", he winked at her.

Kira rolled her eyes, and turned her head even further away, trying to hide the heat that rose into her cheeks. As annoying as he was, he was also pretty good-looking.

 _That just makes him even more of a nuisance,_ Kira thought.

"So, _this_ is your ship?" he asked, and Kira actually looked over at him to see that he was looking around her control room, gawking.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" she asked, suddenly defensive.

"It's a yacht!" he pointed out. "It's huge!"

"Oh...yeah, I guess", she mumbled.

At that, Artoo made his entrance into the room.

" _Who's this?_ " he beeped at her.

"This is Poe", she told him. Poe nodded at the small droid.

"So Princess, you have a name?" he smiled slightly at her.

"It's not Princess, that's for damn sure", she responded, taking off her scarf and letting her hair fall.

"Well looking at this fancy ship, I'm not sure what else to call you", he smirked, enjoying her irritability.

She took a calming breath and then glanced at him.

"It's Kira," she said curtly.

"Kira", he mulled over the name. "I like it."

Was he….flirting with her?

"It's nice to meet you Kira", he sent her another one of those charming smiles.

Yep, definitely flirting.

On one hand, it infuriated Kira, but on the other hand it sent her stomach flying to catch up with the rest of her.

He persisted as she tried to ignore him as she flew farther away from the planet.

"You got a last name, Princess?" he asked. Did he really just call her Princess again?!

"Not one that's any of your business", she said, not looking away from the viewport.

Poe chuckled, he found he rather liked her fiestyness.

"So where am I taking you?"

"Hmm, there's not really anything near here", he thought out loud. "If you take me straight to the base though, I can promise you that reward a lot quicker."

"That wasn't our agreement", she said darkly.

"What? You already know I'm in the Resistance, and the base changes regularly, not like you would pose a real threat", he pointed out.

She raised her brow at that. Not pose a threat? He really had no idea.

"Alright Flyboy, where's the base?" she asked, giving in.

"Flyboy?" he raised his eyebrows.

"If I have to be Princess, then you get be Flyboy", she shrugged.

He laughed again, before answering her.

"The base is in the Ileenium system, on D'Qar."

Kira put the coordinates in the system, getting the ship ready to go into hyperspace.

"So what about the ship?" Poe inquired. "She got a name?"

"Actually she does", Kira answered as she sent them into hyperspace.

" _Jade's Fire_."


	2. Chapter 2

Everything belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney except for my own character, Kira.

This was crazy.

This was so kriffing crazy.

Was she actually, _willingly_ , flying straight back to the Resistance? Only an idiot would do that after what she'd been through.

Apparently she was an idiot.

But she couldn't just leave Poe to be taken by the First Order….she just couldn't.

She looked up to the dark haired pilot next to her, having just entered hyperspace.

"Umm", she started. "There's a few small staterooms. One's yours if you need to lie down."

His face looked bad enough, with his busted lip and his bruised eye, she couldn't imagine how the rest of him was doing.

"Thanks, I might just take you up on that. It's been a hell of a day," he sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I think I have some bacta packages in the back," she said suddenly. "Give me a sec."

She quickly got up and moved to the back of the ship were she had some storage, including medical supplies. After grabbing a box with a variety of things Poe might need, she made her way back to the control room.

She set the box in her empty chair and turned to him.

"So, where's the damage?"

"Besides my face? My abdomen is killing me, might be my ribs," he said wincing.

"Lemme see," she told him, crossing her arms.

"That eager to see me shirtless, huh?" he teased her.

"I've had to repair a few broken ribs of my own before," she said, trying not to sound flustered. "Do you want my help or not?"

He smirked at her, before standing and raising his shirt just enough for her to see his badly bruised ribs. She walked forward and gently placed her hands on the darkest area.

"This hurt?" she asked.

"Not the word I would use to describe it," he winked. In response, she pushed her hands in a little. He winced.

"How bout that?" she smirked.

He nodded, swallowing back pain.

"Well good news, they're not broken, you would've felt it when I touched you," she said, walking back to the box of medical supplies. "They're pretty badly bruised though so you'll need to leave some bacta bandages on them for a while."

She grabbed one from the box and then walked over to him and knelt in front of him.

"Maybe I'm not having such a bad day if it ends with a gorgeous blonde on her knees in front of me," he smiled.

"Do you flirt with every woman you meet?" she snapped, placing one of the bandages on the top of his rib-cage.

"Just the ones I find irresistible," he smirked. She rolled her eyes in response, and decided to change the subject.

"So now that I've saved your ass from getting captured by the First Order, I think the least you owe me is an explanation," she said, taping the bacta down. "Who did this to you?"

"Well, I got beat up pretty good by the couple of troopers who were trying to get information from me. But then another trooper ended up defecting and helping me escape," he explained.

Kira raised her eyebrow in surprise at that.

"A defector, huh? Well maybe there is some hope for troopers after all. Why were you even captured in the first place?"

"I was sent to Jakku to get vital information that can help the Resistance, but I put it in my droid before they could take me and sent him away. I was going back to get him when we were shot down in the TIE that we used to escape," he said the last part with some sadness.

"Important info, or important droid?" she asked, getting up and going to get the other bacta patch.

"Both honestly," he shrugged. "The stuff inside him is important, but I think I'd go back for BB-8 no matter what. He's my friend."

The softness in his voice made her heart ache.

"I understand," she told him, turning back towards him, and gesturing down to R2-D2. "It's been just me and Artoo ever since I was 14, I don't think I could give him up for anything."

Poe looked at the droid again, something about him seemed familiar but Poe couldn't place it.

She walked back to him and knelt down again to place the other patch.

"So what's this super secretive information your droid has?" she asked, but he hesitated to answer. She noticed.

"It's okay if you can't tell me," she said. "If it's that important, I probably don't even want to know anyway."

"Sorry, it's just, war, ya know?" he shrugged. "Nothing personal."

"Oh trust me, I know that all too well," she said as she finished taping up his second bandage. "There, all done."

She stood up to face him and he lowered his shirt.

"Thank you, Kira," he said smiling sweetly. She nodded and started to turn away, but he grabbed her hand. "No really, thank you for everything."

She blushed and nodded again, looking over at their coordinates. "We should reach D'Qar in about eight standard hours, you should probably try to get some sleep."

"Well what about you?" he asked.

"Honestly I could probably go for a few hours of shut-eye," she said, and looked over to her droid. "You okay taking over Artoo?"

His beeped response earned him a nod from her.

"Here, I'll show you to a stateroom," she said to Poe and started walking towards the small hallway, and she noticed he hadn't let go of her hand.

* * *

 _A loud crash woke Kira up and she squinted into the darkness. As she pushed the covers off of her, she started making her way towards her bedroom door, and cracked it open just enough to hear._

" _Please be quiet so you won't wake Kira," she heard her father say softly._

" _You can't keep babying her!" her mother's harsh voice snapped back._

" _She's six years old!"_

" _She has to know life isn't always going to be so easy!"_

" _She is just a child!"_

" _Not all six year old's get to be children! I didn't! Or did you forget that?"_

" _No I didn't forget! How could I with you bringing it up all of the time?!"_

 _Kira sighed and closed her door slowly. They were fighting again. Her parents had never been perfect, but lately her mother had just been so…. angry._

 _She made her way slowly back to her bed, but stopped when she heard a fimilar buzz and clash._

 _Lightsabers!_

 _She raced to the door and threw it open, as she let out a scream._

" _Mama!"_

* * *

Kira jerked awake suddenly while breathing heavily, not surprised by her recurring nightmare. What she was surprised by, was the wailing coming from the room next to hers.

 _Poe!_

She got up and raced to his room, grabbing her blaster on the way. As she burst into his room, she held her blaster ready to fire at whatever was making him yell. She halted however when she saw that Poe was alone, and asleep.

He was having a nightmare. A very bad one by the looks of it.

She turned to leave him be, but stopped and sighed. He was sending off waves of pain and anguish and fear. This must have been what brought her dream on, she had sensed what he was feeling.

She slowly made her way over to his bedside, and sat down on the side of it gently, setting her blaster on the floor.

She reached out and slightly shook his shoulder. "Poe."

He didn't wake, only twitched and groaned, sweat piercing his brow.

"Poe," she said a little louder and shook him a little more forcefully.

He woke up with a jolt and sat straight up, frantically looking around him. Slowly he realized where he was, and noticed the small blonde that was perched on the edge of his bed.

"Kria," he said rubbing his eyes. "What're you doing in here?"

"You were yelling and it woke me up," she told him. "I came in here to make sure you were okay."

"Oh, thanks, I'm alright, just a bad dream."

"Sounded pretty ugly," she commented. "Wanna tell me about it?"

He looked at her curiously, wondering why she didn't just go back to her own room.

"It was just stuff that happened while I was on the star destroyer. Guess it messed with me more than I thought," he said running his hand through his hair.

"What happened?" she asked softly, her blue eyes glowing in the dim light.

"Well I told you how the troopers beat me up pretty bad, but I didn't tell them anything, so they sent someone else."

Kira tensed.

"Who?" she swallowed.

"Kylo Ren," he spat.

Kira felt her pulse quicken. Poe had been with him. And had been tortured by him.

"He went into your head," she whispered.

"What?" he asked, not hearing her.

"He went into your head, didn't he? That's what you were dreaming about," she concluded, her voice a little louder.

"Yeah," he nodded grimly. "I'd never have given BB-8 away otherwise. How'd you guess?"

At that, she looked down and hugged herself tightly.

"I have….some past experience with Kylo Ren. It's not pleasant," she confessed.

"Is that why you're running? You're hiding from him?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"Partly, yes," she answered truthfully, the fear in her voice obvious.

"You said earlier that you've been alone since you were fourteen," he said softly. "What happened to your family? Did Ren kill them?"

She let out one snort, and he raised a brow.

"Not exactly," she said looking back at him. "But it is his fault that I lost them. Well most of them. My mother is dead. And my father is…. gone. It's been me and Artoo for so long, at this point I'm pretty much use to being alone."

He sighed. The girl in front of him now wasn't the woman he'd met earlier today. She was completely closed off, but this girl… she was practically screaming for someone to get close to her. He reached out gently took her hand.

"When we get to D'Qar, you should stay," he told her.

"What?" she asked surprised. "I just said I was trying to hide from Kylo Ren, why would I join the very people he's hunting?"

"Look I get that but," Poe paused and sighed. "We've all lost people at the hands of the First Order. We understand each other. We protect each other. We're family. And it sounds like maybe you could use one."

 _Family._

That word mulled over in her head. Little did Poe know that if she went back to the Resistance, family is exactly what she would find.

"I can't," she shook her head. "You don't understand Poe, if I went back to the Resistance I would be putting all of you in danger."

"We're already in danger," he chuckled. "I've seen your fighting skills, your pilot skills, and your quick thinking. General Organa would find a place for you easily."

 _Oh I'm sure she would_ , Kira thought. She was broken out of her trance by Poe giving her hand a squeeze and she brought her eyes to meet his.

"Come on, Princess, say you'll think about it," he gave her one of those heart fluttering smiles, and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Again. Damn.

"Alright, Flyboy, I'll think about it," she agreed. "But I'm not promising anything."

"Trust me," he smiled. "After spending so much quality time with me, you'll miss me too much to even think about leaving."


	3. Chapter 3

Everything belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney except for my own character, Kira.

* * *

Rey's breath caught in her throat. Takodana was beautiful. It was so luscious and… _alive_.

"I didn't know there was this much green in the whole galaxy," she whispered in complete awe.

Han spared her a glance of pity, and curiosity. The girl was familiar to him somehow. He wondered…

As the Millennium Falcon was set down on the edge of a lake, Rey practically sped down the ramp to get a better look. As she came to the waters edge, she closed her eyes for a moment and listened. She could hear animals in the woods and birds in the trees. All those years spent on the emptiness of Jakku made this place seem like a dream. She was pulled out of her trance by a gruff voice that had come up behind her.

"You might need this," Han said as he help out a blaster.

"I think I can handle myself," Rey responded, a little cocky.

"I know you do, that's why I'm giving to you," the captain shot back. "Take it."

Rey took the weapon from him and looked it over in her hands, before pointing it at a tree in the distance as if to shoot.

"You know how to use one of those?" Han asked, a little taken back.

"Yeah, you pull the trigger," she said, not lowering the blaster.

"Little bit more to it than that," Han told her as he lowered her hand by pulling her wrist down. "You got a lot to learn."

 _This girl really was spunky_ , Han thought. She reminded him of another young girl he'd known. She'd been lost too, and he couldn't help but wonder if…

"You got a name?"

Rey looked back up at him before answering. "Rey."

"Rey," he repeated and took a breath. So she wasn't who he thought, but she was still clever and definitely knew her way around the Falcon.

"I've been thinking about bringing on some more crew, Rey. A second mate, someone to help out. Someone who can keep up with Chewie and me; appreciates the Falcon," he told her as he gestured back to his old ship.

Rey had a hard time keeping the smile off her face as she turned to face him directly.

"Are you offering me a job?!"

"I wouldn't be nice to ya," Han informed her. "Doesn't pay much."

"You're offering me a job," she confirmed.

"I'm _thinking_ about it," he corrected her.

The excitement Rey felt at his original offer quickly faded however, when she realized she couldn't take it.

"Well?"

"If you were I'd be flattered…but I have to get home," she stated sadly.

"Wh-Jakku?" Han asked, a little surprised.

"I've already been away too long," she insisted.

Han was pulled out of his shock for a brief moment when he heard his first mate emerge from the Falcon.

"Chewie," he called. "Check out this ship the best you can."

He turned back to the girl and took a step towards her as he lowered her hand holding the blaster, reminding her _again_ not to point it.

"Too bad," he told her. "Chewie kinda likes ya."

Rey smiled at his comment, and looked off towards the lake again. Han's offer sounded like a dream come true. To be able to fly around the galaxy, with Han Solo on the Millennium Falcon no less, was everything she could have ever wanted. Well...almost everything. The gnawing feeling in her gut had only gotten worse the farther she'd gotten from Jakku.

She felt as though she was being torn in half. A part of her knew she needed to stay on Jakku and wait, but the other part was yearning for freedom from the hellish planet more than anything. Unfortunately, Rey knew which side would win out in the end.

* * *

Kira took a deep breath as the navigation computer showed their upcoming decent upon D'Qar edging closer. Several times throughout the trip, she considered backing out of her deal with Poe. She thought seriously about going through with their original plan and just dropping him off on the nearest planet, where he could get a ship and go back himself. She really, really considered it. Because she did _not_ want to go back to the Resistance.

Well, "go back to the Resistance" wasn't exactly the correct term, considering she'd never even been a part of it. It was the thought of seeing Leia again that was making her feel sick. Kira hadn't seen her since before….

Kira groaned and put her face in her hands, the feeling of shame already being to much to bare. Artoo's beeping from behind her in the cockpit drew her out of her self-wallowing.

"I don't know if I can do this Artoo," she whispered as she looked up to gaze out of the main viewport, not even sure if the droid heard her.

" _Do what?"_ he probed. " _Where are we going?"_

"I promised Poe I'd take him back to the Resistance, but I just…" she trailed off, biting her lip. "I don't know if I can face her again."

" _Why not? I thought humans were quite attached to their family. Shouldn't you be looking forward to it?"_

"I would have thought that by now, you'd have realized that our's isn't exactly a typical family," she looked over to him, slightly smiling.

" _I wouldn't know, Mistress Kira. Your family is the only one I've ever served. Before that I was just a Nubian astromech droid,"_ he reminded her.

Kira gave him a small smile. When she'd told Poe how much Artoo meant to her, she hadn't even expressed a parsec of how much he actually meant. He was part of her family, had been now for three generations.

" _The princess will be most excited to see you, Mistress Kira."_

She sighed at that, because she knew it was true. Leia would be thrilled to see her. Hell, Kira didn't even know if Leia knew she was still alive. In fact, Kira was sure Leia didn't know.

 _She would've sent a bounty hunter after me herself to bring me home if she knew I'd been out here all alone,_ she thought to herself.

Home. Kira had never really had a home, they'd moved around so much when she was growing up. If anything, _Jade's Fire_ was the place where she'd spent most of her childhood. Home was people to her, but most of those people were gone.

 _Not all of them_ , she reminded herself. The navi-computer beeped again, letting her know they were about to exit hyperspace.

"I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get Poe," she told Artoo, and made her way back to the cabin she'd lent Poe.

"Poe," she called and lightly knocked on the door. It opened with a fast _swoosh,_ and the pilot was standing before her. Kira immediately noticed that most of the dirt, grime, and blood that had been covering him was gone. As was his shirt. He'd obviously just gotten out of the shower. Now that he was freshly clean, Kira noticed how beautiful his eyes actually were.

 _Dammit, stop staring at him._

"We're coming up on D'Qar," she told him, trying not to sound dazed, and quickly turned to make her way back to the cockpit.

He was right on her heels the whole way through, and slid into the co-pilot seat beside her (thankfully fully covered now). She considered one more time backing out, but found that she couldn't. She had to get Poe safely back to his people. After what Kylo Ren had done to him, Kira felt almost… responsible for him. She had to make sure he was safe. At least as safe as possible.

She brought them out of hyperspace, and took the controls as they came upon D'Qar.

"They're probably gonna need to hear me to let you land," he told her.

"Right," she nodded, and opened up the frequency as she made her way into the atmosphere. She nodded at Poe when they were within range.

"This is Commander Poe Dameron, requesting clearance to land on docking bay 007. Repeat, this is Commander Poe Dameron, requesting clearance to land."

After a moment of silence, a voice replied back, "You are clear to land, Commander. It's good to see you."

Kira gave Poe a questioning glance before starting the landing cycle.

"I should have been back a whole rotation ago, plus BB-8's not with me and I dislodged his tracking unit when we landed on Jakku," he explained to her. "Didn't want the order to find us if they saw him."

She gave a curt nod, but said nothing. If she would have, she was sure she might vomit. Her stomach felt like it was spinning in circles.

"You okay?" he asked, noticing her tension. "You seem nervous? They're not gonna hurt you, if that's what you're worried about. I promise."

While Kira appreciated his concern, she could only answer with yet another nod.

She set _Jade's Fire_ down where Poe instructed and had barely started opening the ramp before he was basically sprinting towards the exit. She glanced out of the viewport, and saw Poe being welcomed by what she could only assume was his squadron. He was right, they did seem like family; they were absolutely thrilled to see him. Kira felt several waves of relief and happiness from several different beings, all strangers. And then…

Kira's head shot up to look at the entrance of the base as she felt a familiar presence.

There she was. Leia Organa.

Princess of Alderaan.

Hero of the Rebellion.

Founder of the New Republic.

Leader of the Resistance.

And some of the only family Kira had left.

She had aged since Kira last saw her, her hair now more grey then dark brown, but she was still so obviously that same rebel princess.

Upon seeing the general, Poe immediately walked up to her to greet her formally. Kira couldn't see what he said, but whatever it was, Leia answered with a smile and a short answer of her own. Poe continued, and then gestered back towards _Jade's Fire_. Upon seeing the ship, Leia's smile dropped and she froze. Kira swallowed.

Leia took a few steps towards the ship and passed Poe, who turned and looked at her questionably. Then Leia said something to him, and this time Kira _could_ read her lips.

"Who's ship is that, Commander?" and then Kira felt a huge wave of the Force reach out to her, curious. She clung to it, and reached out with her own feelings.

Leia's hand came to her mouth in shock. In that moment, Kira forgot why she had been so afraid of seeing Leia again, as she was hit with all of the warm feelings that she hadn't felt in so long.

Longing.

Safety.

Love.

Kira didn't think for a moment longer, and she shot out of the pilot's chair and raced towards the ramp. When she got to the opening of the ship, Leia was already there.

The young blonde halted for a moment upon seeing the general, and then slowly descended down the ramp, her blue eyes never leaving Leia's brown ones.

As Kira came to a stop in front of her, Leia's breathing hitched.

"Kira? Is that really you?" Leia whispered. Though the former princess knew in her bones this girl was in fact Kira, she had to make sure the Force wasn't just pulling some cruel joke on her.

Kira didn't speak, as the tears that had been threatening to come up finally rose, and she nodded.

Leia didn't hesitate. She pulled the girl into her arms and held her tightly.

Several thoughts hit Kira all at once.

 _How?_

 _Where have you been?_

 _What happened?_

It was the last one that broke Kira. She stifled a sob and buried her face in Leia's neck as she mumbled, "I'm so sorry Aunt Leia, I'm so so sorry."

* * *

Rey was shocked. After Finn's revelation that he was not with the Resistance and was actually running from the First Order after deserting his post as a stormtrooper, she wasn't sure what else to feel.

She didn't care that he was a stormtrooper though, after all, she was only a scavenger. And Finn was her friend. It didn't matter where he came from or how long they'd known each other, she didn't want him to leave. But he did.

He walked out of Maz's castle and left Rey stunned. She went to run after him when something stopped her.

" _No!"_

A voice.

" _Come back!"_

And it was calling out to her…. Whatever it was.

As the voice became louder, Rey followed it and it led her down underneath the castle.

She vaguely heard the _thump thump thump_ of BB-8 as he rolled down one step at a time behind her, but she didn't break her trance.

" _No!"_

The noise, the pull, was urging her onwards, until she reached a closed door. As she turned towards it, the door opened. There was a wooden chest among other things, just sitting there, waiting for her.

She made her way towards it, and slowly opened the lid. As she looked inside, she knew… well, she actually didn't know what she saw.

It was cylinder shaped, silver, and kinda odd looking. What was this?

Whatever it was, she wanted to know, she wanted to hold it. So she reached out and touched it.

The room in Maz's castle disappeared around her and she looked around frantically as she found herself in another small room, however this room almost looked like… a bedroom.

 _Almost,_ because there was nothing personal about this place, just a bed and other necessary things one might keep in a living space. But what drew Rey's attention was the boy...no a man… well maybe a boy, who was sitting on the floor of the room. His focus was downwards, towards his hands, as he tinkered with something. Rey took a few steps forward and looked down.

Two hands, one real and one mechanical, were hard at work building what Rey realized was that weird object that she had touched. It's creator looked up, and held up the object to examine it, before clicking something on the handle Rey couldn't see, and a shimmering blue blade came to life before their eyes.

 _A lightsaber!_ Rey thought.

She had heard of the blades made of fire, but had thought they were a myth along with the Jedi and Luke Skywalker. She wandered what other tales she had heard as a child were actually true.

Before Rey could have another thought, the scene shifted and she found herself almost falling as the ground changed beneath her.

The peacefulness of the first scene had completely vanished as all Rey felt around her now was despair.

She looked around, and quickly wondered if she had died and this is what the Force provided as an afterlife, because if it was then she must have done something horrendous to end up somewhere like this.

Rey was surrounded by fire. Everywhere was fire, and lava, and rock. A yell made her jump and turn around. She thought the fire was depressing, but nothing could have prepared her for the scene before her.

"You were the Chosen One!" a man that stood at the top of a hill cried out to the broken man before him. "It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!"

Rey couldn't help the sorrow that filled her. This man sounded heartbroken.

She looked over the other man, laying in pain near the river of lava, and it hit her. That was the same man from before! The Jedi who built the lightsaber!

 _What happened to him?_ Rey wondered in horror. She almost didn't want to hear anymore, but then the other man continued.

"Bring balance to the Force! Not leave it in Darkness!"

The man then turned and walked over to pick up something shiny off of the molten ground.

 _It's the lightsaber again!_ Rey realized.

"I HATE YOU!" screamed the broken Jedi, and Rey's heart broke for him. He just seemed so lost…

But what was even more heartbreaking, was the first man's response.

"You were my brother, Anakin… I loved you."

The lava around her started to twist and turn, and Rey's breath caught in her throat as the scene changed again.

Now there was no fire or rock or any natural elements. Just metal. Almost like she was in some sort of tunnel. A distant yell caught her attention.

"Nooooooo!"

She started toward the yell, and quickly got a glimpse as the bright contrasting colors of blue and red clashed against each other. But as the tunnel around her began to spin, she lost her footing and this time she _did_ fall.

Heavy rain and… something else was falling upon her face. She looked over to see a hooded figure bent over in despair. The being reached out a mechanical hand, and placed it on the head of an R2 unit sitting next to it.

Rey started to look in closer, when a figure behind her made her turn around and she gasped as she saw a creature raise it's weapon in order to strike her. Rey reacted as though she actually was struck through when a red light was driven through her attacker's chest from behind, killing him. She staggered to her feet, and looked up to see a tall and intimidating masked man (or at least she assumed it was a man) holding a very frightening looking red lightsaber. He was surrounded by a group of other beings, all of them dressed in black. He started to stalk towards her, and Rey took a few frightened steps back, but was distracted by a shout from behind her.

"Nooooo! Come back!"

A small girl was being held back by her arm as she cried out in despair, looking towards the sky.

"Quiet girl!" a booming voice ridiculed the child. It was in this moment that Rey realized the large being was Unkar Plutt. So the small girl was….no.

"Nooooo!" the smaller Rey wailed again, and Rey looked on, horrified. She turned her head quickly at the sound of a ship's engine and caught a glimpse of a ship leaving Jakku's atmosphere. The feeling of abandonment hit Rey hard, as though this moment in her life was happening all over again. How could they just leave her?

 _No_ , Rey reminded herself again. _They're coming back, I just have to wait_.

The scene around her changed again, but only slightly.

There sat a small teenage Rey, making another mark on the wall of her makeshift home. Rey noticed how much smaller that wall was in this scene then it was in the present. The younger Rey then went outside and Rey followed. She watched as her past self sat in front of the old AT-AT and looked up to the sky.

" _I just need to wait_ ," the thought echoed in Rey's head as tears threatened to come to the surface. She looked up to the sun as well, but it started to bleed until it was a faded red. Rey looked around confused and noticed that she was no longer in the dessert of Jakku, but in a forest. Was she back on Takodana?

All thoughts were abandoned however as she heard a distant voice.

"Rey."

She jumped at the sound, and started running, sprinting, trying to escape this horrible nightmare so it would end. But she halted and started to fall back, as the hooded being from before appeared in front of her, lightsaber blazing.

As she fell back onto the cold, hard, cement of Maz's castle, a faint whisper of words echoed in her head.

"These are your first steps…"

Rey was breathing so hard, she thought her chest might explode. The feeling of fear leaking out of her, tears falling from her eyes. She turned her head to the side to see the small form of Maz Kanata at the end of the hallway.

"What was that?" Rey asked, her voice cracking, and she stood up quickly and looked down upon Maz as she shook her head. "I shouldn't have gone in there!"

Maz approached her, looking stunned and said, "That lightsaber, was _Luke's_! And his father's before him! And now, it calls to _you_."

"I have to get back to Jakku," Rey insisted, her breathing still uneven.

"Han told me," Maz nodded and removed her goggles. She reached out her hand for Rey's and the girl slowly took it and kneeled so that she was eye-to-eye with Maz.

"Dear child," Maz comforted her. "I see your eyes. You already know the truth. Whomever you're waiting for on Jakku… They're never coming back."

Rey's breathing halted, as she felt the giant lump in her throat make it's wait to the surface. She closed her eyes and let her tears fall, still trying to convince herself that Maz was wrong. They _were_ coming back, she just needed to wait….

"But," Maz started, and Rey looked back up to her. "There's someone who still could."

"Luke," Rey breathed, the realization hitting her.

"The belonging you seek is not behind you," Maz informed her, "it is ahead. I am no Jedi, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing."

Rey looked on as Maz closed her eyes.

"Close your eyes….feel it. The light, it's always been there. It will guide you."

The pirate opened her eyes again and met Rey's that were still pouring out tears.

"The saber, take it."

Her command woke Rey up. The girl pulled her hand away and rose quickly.

"I'm never touching that thing again," she vowed. "I don't want any part of this."

Rey didn't hear if Maz tried to speak again, as she printed out of the castle and into the woods.

This was crazy. She was a scavenger. She wasn't supposed to involved with all of this. The First Order, the Resistance, Luke Skywalker….

No. No, this wasn't her path. She was suppose to be on Jakku, and she needed to get back.

She ran until she felt far enough away from that….thing, and slowed to a stop. Her attempt to collect her thoughts were interrupted however, by a small set of beeps behind her.

"What are you doing?" she demanded of BB-8.

" _I was following you_ ," he told her.

"You have to go back," she responded and she walked closer to the round droid.

" _But what about you?_ "

"I'm leaving," she informed him and kneeled down to his level.

" _I'll come with you!"_ he insisted.

"Bee Bee Ate"-she started.

" _I'm coming!"_ he said again

"No you can't, you have to go back! You're too important," she reminded him. "They'll help you."

How was she supposed to help him anyway? She was no one.

Before Rey could continue to try and persuade BB-8 to go back, the squeal of TIE fighters pulled her attention towards the sky.

The sight that greeted her was not a pleasant one. What looked like an entire fleet of fighters and stormtrooper transports were heading in the direction of Maz's castle.

And so Rey started running again.

* * *

Poe expected his squadron to tackle him with relief and questions as soon as he landed.

He expected General Organa to not be surprised upon seeing him a day late and a droid short.

But what he did _not_ expect was to see was the most powerful woman he'd ever known embracing his rescuer with so much emotion it was rolling off of both women in waves.

Kira _knew_ General Organa? But she hadn't said anything. Though why would she, considering Poe had only known her for about a day.

When he had asked her to join the Resistance, he assumed that her hesitation was a fear of the First Order, like most new recruits felt. But if she knew Leia so well then why hadn't she come back _sooner_?

Who was this girl?

Poe broke his gaze from the two women and looked around. What he saw was a good chunk of the Resistance all staring in shock at their General showing so much emotion to who they thought was a stranger. Poe then felt slightly uncomfortable as he realized they were all intruding on what seemed to be a very private moment. He let out a small cough and stepped towards Leia.

"Um, General?" he asked as Leia released Kira from her hug, and she turned slightly to look at Poe, not letting go of Kira's hands.

"Yes Commander?"

"I just thought maybe you would like to take our briefing somewhere a little more, private," he suggested, gestering to the crowd of people that had been watching.

Noticing everyone, Kira immediately released Leia's hands and crossed her arms, looking down sheepishly. Leia noticed as well, and went back to her normal commanding voice as if nothing had happened and addressed her soldiers.

"Back to your posts," she said, and the quiet that had come with the awe of seeing Leia and Kira quickly turned back into the normal hustle and bustle of the base.

Leia motioned for both Poe and Kira to come with her, and they fell into step behind her. As she led them through the base, Poe looked over to Kira, who was still keeping her head down obviously trying to avoid eye contact.

Leia then halted and turned to the two of them.

"Poe, why don't you get checked out, just in case, while I speak to Kira. You can come to me after to explain what happened to BB-8."

Poe's first instinct was to argue. He was fine and they needed to go and retrieve BB-8 before the First Order found him! He was about to say this out loud, but stopped when he noticed Leia's look. He knew that look. She wouldn't budge.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said, and started walking towards the Medcenter. He glanced one more time back at Kira, and this time she met his gaze. Her crystal blue eyes that he found so enchanting were filled with anxiety, and he tried to offer a small supportive smile before he turned around. He didn't know why though. Kira had obviously not told him the whole truth and yet, he was still worried about her. And he didn't even know her, but boy did he want to. Whoever she was, Poe wanted to know every little detail because he could not stop thinking about that girl. And when he got to the Medbay, he realized that not being with her only made it worse.


	4. Chapter 4

Everything belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney except for my own character, Kira.

AN: Just wanted to touch on a few things before this chapter. This chapter displays a few story lines from Claudia Gray's book _Bloodline,_ so everything from that book belongs to her. Also, while I took some influence from her book, I changed the story just slightly. If you read the book, you might notice, but it's not that much of a difference, just a few details. Anyway, just wanted to touch base on that. Thank's for all the nice comments! Hope you enjoy Chapter 4! Please Fav/Follow/Share!

* * *

Kira watched as Poe left them in the corridor and turned back to offer her a kind smile. She really didn't want him to go. And while she _was_ fighting a painfully obvious attraction to him, that's not why she wanted him to stay.

She was terrified to be alone with her aunt.

Because she knew Leia would demand an explanation for everything.

Leia barely noticed their small moment, too distracted by Kira's sudden return.

"Come this way," Leia said suddenly, and led Kira a few doors down. She opened the door with a key card and Kira followed her inside. The small entryway led into a particularly large sweet for a military base. Assuming this was Leia's personal quarters, Kira slowly walked towards the living area and looked around. There was a small couch and two chairs sitting across from each other, and in between the chairs was a simple mantle with a few holo images Leia had saved. As Kira looked closer at an old picture of Han and Leia from after the Battle of Endor, she felt Leia's eyes on her.

"It's uncanny," the princess said suddenly from her spot at the table.

"What is?" Kira asked, confused as she looked over to her.

"How much you resemble your mother," Leia answered, taking Kira back by surprise. "If it wasn't for my brother's eyes, or his hair color for that matter, I'd swear I was looking Mara again."

Kira flinched at the name and looked away, back towards the holos.

"You still don't like to talk about her then?"

"I don't _like_ to talk about the Jedi. I don't _like_ to talk about Luke, and I don't _like_ to talk about Vader. But I _don't_ talk about her," Kira corrected her, holding back the urge to shake with anger.

Leia sighed at her niece's reaction and decided to change the topic to what she really wanted to talk about. "Kira, what happened? Where have you been? Han and I thought you were dead. If I had known-"

"I know. I know you would have gone looking for me," Kira interrupted. "That's why I stayed away, I didn't want…. I couldn't face you, after what happened."

"Why not?" Leia urged, desperation in her voice.

"Because I-" Kira's voice caught in her throat and she looked down. "I failed, Aunt Leia. I failed him."

"Who? Luke?" Leia questioned. Kira slightly shook her head, and wiped a straggler tear away from her cheek. Then Leia understood.

"Ben," she concluded. Kira looked back up to meet her gaze, and Leia continued. "That's what you were apologizing for."

"He always watched after me. He protected me," Kira said softly. "We were so close, I suppose because we understood each other. The other padawans could be cold, cruel. Jealous, I think, because of who we were. "

Leia stayed silent, and listened, hoping that if she didn't interrupt Kira, the girl would tell her everything that happened. Looking back up, Kira saw an old holo she hadn't seen in years. It was of her, and Ben. She was barely two, so this memory was fragile. They were in Han and Leia's yard, on Chandarilla. Ben was about twelve, just a gawkley kid trying to become a teenager. He had been quiet most of the time, but not around her. Around her he was almost...happy. In the holo, Ben held her on his shoulders as he ran through his mother's meadows making his little cousin squeal with laughter as she cried, "My Benny! My Benny!" It was a moment so precious, Kira thanked the Force that Leia had been smart enough to capture it. Kira slightly smiled at the image, and then looked at Leia as she continued to speak.

"Being a Skywalker is hard enough, ya know? Everyone just expected greatness, another Jedi hero. And then when it was publicly discovered that Anakin and Padmé were your parents, it got even worse," Kira scoffed and looked out of Leia's window as she continued. "We weren't just the children of the heroes of the Rebellion, but also the grandchildren of Padmé Amidala, Queen of Naboo at fourteen and General Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with No Fear."

She shook her head and gave a heartless laugh. "'Hero with No Fear', of course that's what they called him. When we weren't at the Academy, everyone just awed over us. Like we were something so precious and perfect, meant to protect the galaxy. How could we do any wrong? It was unbearable. But the academy was worse. The other students practically ignored us, thinking everything was just given to us and that we didn't have to work as hard as they did. It brought me down, but Ben… it made Ben angry. So angry. We would talk and sometimes he would come around. I thought I was special, because I was the only one who could get through to him. But little did I know that Snoke was there the whole time."

"How do you know that?" Leia finally spoke up.

"Something, _someone_ , was communicating with him. Comforting him, teaching him. I've felt the darkness, but I've never been drawn to it. But Ben, it was like it was constantly pulling at him," she explained.

"I think I know what you mean," Leia told her. At Kira's questionable look, she elaborated. "When I was pregnant with Ben, I use to feel like there was something trying to get to me, get to _him_. Luke taught me a few techniques to try and protect myself against the dark side but I was no Jedi."

"You could have been," Kira pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose I could have," Leia agreed. "But that wasn't my path."

Kira nodded and Leia leaned forward as she rested her elbows on the table.

"What happened, Kira?" Leia asked softly. Kira swallowed and looked back over to the holos. She let her eyes rest on one of a teenage Leia with her parents on Alderaan.

"Like I said, it was bad, but it was unbearable after it was announced what had happened to Anakin," she started, and she felt Leia tense.

" _Your father has become Darth Vader."_

Bail Organa's recorded voice echoed in Kira's head. It had been all over the holonet after it was played in the Senate. She closed her eyes, and the painful memory came back to her.

* * *

She was breathing hard, sweat beading on her head. She had been sparring with Ben outside for a couple of hours, and he had not gone easy on her. But she was still pretty proud of herself. Ben was a decade older than her but even at fourteen she still held her ground.

"You're getting pretty good Kira," Ben said as he passed her a canteen of water, and smirked. "I actually had to try that time."

"Oh please, you were fighting just as hard as I was and you know it," she rolled her eyes and started walking back towards the temple. He chuckled lowly and fell into step beside her. Ben looked down at his small cousin, and let out a sigh of disappointment.

"I'm sorry you can't practice with padawans your own age," he told her. She looked up at him with surprise.

"Why? So I could kick all of their asses and make them hate me even more?" she responded. Ben smirked at her and looked ahead.

"Besides, it's so much more fun to beat someone twice your size," she shrugged.

"You haven't beaten me once and you know it," he reminded her.

"Not yet maybe, but someday I will, and that day will be glorious," she exacterated as she threw her hair back. He laughed and shook his head as they entered the temple.

On the way to their dorms, they were stopped by a crowd of padawans in one of the small common areas. Upon seeing Ben and Kira, a few of the students immediately got wide eyes and scurried away from them in fear.

Ben and Kira glanced at each other in confusion. Sure they'd always been hated, but feared?

Kira slowly got closer to a crowd of boys who were huddled around what appeared to be a hologram. Luke didn't allow regular holonetworks to come through the temple but many of the kids' parents sent them news updates.

"My mother wants me to go home, she doesn't want me training with Master Skywalker anymore. Plus those other two..." one boy said to another and shook his head at the hologram, to which the other student replied, "Doesn't surprise me! I told you they were freaks!"

"Who?" Kira said loudly, snapping the boys' attention away from what they were watching.

Many of them looked just like the other students from before: afraid. But a few just looked at them with what only could be described as pure hatred.

"What is that?" she asked and again no one answered, instead one boy turned up the volume and image of the hologram. A still image of a man in what could only be described as royal garments was being displayed. Kira instantly recognized him as Bail Organa, Leia's father. It was then when the holonet started playing a recording of Viceroy Organa's voice and Kira listened closely.

"My beloved daughter, the Supreme Governor of Birren, whom I trust completely, said that he would keep this here for you until you someday inherit this title. My hope is that this recording holds no new information. That I have had the chance to explain everything to you, myself. However, I make this recording during a time of increasing danger for our rebellion. I know too well that I may not survive the war that is surely to come. By hiding the information here, on a world of no significance to the Empire, I hope to keep it out of the wrong hands, and then deliver it into yours. For this is knowledge that you, and only you have the right to possess."

Kira turned to look back at Ben, who looked just as confused as she did as he looked upon the holo image of his long dead grandfather. Was this some kind of old message filled with Rebellion secrets? Why would this be relevant now? She turned back the holo, now very curious.

"You've never expressed much interest in knowing about your birth parents. So many times, you've told your mother and me that we are the only father and mother you've ever needed. And never doubt how much that means to us both. But Leia, the story of your origin is one you must know. You were hidden with us for your own safety, and for that of your brother. Yes, you have a twin brother, though you must not seek him until the war has ended and both Palpatine and Lord Vader have been defeated."

Now Kira was even more confused. This wasn't news. The entire galaxy knew of her father and aunt's relation, and history. Was the fact that Bail Organa knew and didn't tell his daughter before his death such big news that it needed to be broadcasted?

"Obi-Wan Kenobi took your brother for safekeeping, and I took you. We had you both hidden from each other and from your father, who could not know that any child of his had been born alive. You see Leia, I always told you the truth about your mother and how she died. But I never told you that she was Padmé Amidala, former Queen and Senator of the planet Naboo. Nor could I share that your father was Anakin Skywalker, one of the last Jedi Knights and a great hero of the Clone Wars. But now I must tell you the worst, and you must be strong. I must tell you what became of Anakin Skywalker.

"Your father has become Darth Vader."

Kira's mouth hung sightly open, stunned. Everyone in the room was staring at her and she didn't know what to say, or what to feel. She couldn't even turn to acknowledge Ben, even though she felt his shock just as much as she felt her own. She felt him quickly flee the room, but she could not will herself to do the same.

Luke's father was...

Anakin became…

Her grandfather was _Darth Vader_?!

Her reaction was put on hold as the message continued.

"I hope to have told you all this myself. I hope we have enjoyed many more years as a family. That we have seen the Empire fall, and that we have gone forth together to find General Kenobi and your brother. If so, this recording can serve only one purpose. You must be listening after my death. So let this be my chance to say, once again, how much I love you. No other daughter could ever have brought me more joy. Please know that my love for you, and your mother's love, endures long past our deaths. We are forever with you, Leia. In your brightest triumphs and your darkest troubles. Always know that we are by your side."

Kira's expression was replaced by the need to hold back tears. Tears of anger. She was shaking with pure rage.

How. Dare. They.

How dare they play a private message from a deceased father to his daughter for the entire galaxy to hear as if it was just another political speech!

She couldn't do anything about the rest of the galaxy, but she could make damn sure all of the assholes around her couldn't listen to her family's private business anymore.

Her breathing turned ragged and for the first time in her life she channeled her anger through the Force, going against her father's teachings. She reached out with her hand and fisted it, crushing the holorecorder where it sat, and then released her hand, letting the broken pieces fall to the floor. Without saying another word, she turned and stormed out of the room and towards Ben's dorm.

She didn't bother knocking when she got there. Usually she would but this was unusual circumstances and she was sure Ben wasn't so concerned with personal privacy at the moment. She entered the smaller room and found him sitting on the floor, facing the wall. Anger was flowing off of him in waves.

"Ben," she said quietly, unsure if she was trying to comfort him or if she wanted him to comfort her. She started to say something else when she heard a voice that neither belonged to her nor Ben. She stepped closer and realized that he was watching a holo recording. As she got close enough to see around his broad shoulder, she saw that the voice belonged to Leia.

She noticed that her aunt looked horrible, there were bags under her eyes and an overall sense of dread and heartbreak.

"I never wanted you to find out this way," Leia's recording said. "You or Kira. Your father, uncle, and I thought it would be best if…..if we waited until…."

Stumbling upon her words, she shook her head and looked down.

"Honestly, I don't know what we were waiting for. There is no good time to hear news like this," she said looking back up to the camera. "I'm so sorry Ben, we should have told you. There's no excuse. I hope you can forgive me. I love you."

Leia reached out a shaky hand and turned the recording off and her image disappeared from over Ben's palm.

Kira just stood there, still looking over Ben's shoulder. He knew she was there, his emotions were mixing with her's through their bond in such a confusing way that Kira wasn't sure who was feeling what.

She reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, but pulled back quickly as her cousin turned and violently through the holo projector at the wall across from him, shattering it.

"Ben?" she squeaked, taken off guard.

His chest heaved and he rose off the ground and started towards the door.

"Ben!" she called to him, now slightly annoyed that he was ignoring her. Didn't he realize she was going through the same thing? That they had lied to her too?

He stopped suddenly in the doorway, and turned his head slightly so that she could hear him.

"I know you are," he responded to her thoughts. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"I know," she answered. And she did know. The feeling of betrayal flowed back and forth between them, so strong that Kira thought she might collapse from the overwhelmingness of it.

He turned fully toward her, angry tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"They lied to us Kira", he stated. "All these years, they watched me struggle, ignored me, _feared_ me. And now I know why."

He shook his head and looked out of his small window.

"They just assumed I would end up like him. They didn't even give me a chance!" he practically yelled. Images hit Kira immediately.

 _Ben using the Force as a child, wanting to impress his father, but Han being so scared that he patted his head and told him he shouldn't do that._

 _Han and Leia fighting. Fighting over him, and what to do with him. It's in his blood, Leia would say. Exactly, Han would respond._

 _Han leaving. For months at a time. Off with Chewie on another run. Leia crying. Young Ben sitting outside her door at night, listening to his mother's heartbroken sobs at his father's continued absence. Then nannies. Lots and lots of time with nannies and C-3PO._

 _Then that day; the day a thirteen year old Ben walked in on a man, another senator, holding his mother up against the wall and trying to force his hand up her skirt. Ben's reaction had been instant. Leia tried, and failed, to hide her fear as she told her son that it was alright, he didn't do anything wrong, she would make sure this didn't happen again. But the body lying on top of the broken cabinet told a different story._

 _She packed him up one day, and brought him to his uncle. Told him that Luke would watch out for him and teach him. That this was the best thing for him, and her brother could take much better care of him then she could._

 _Ben had begged her not to leave him, had even cried. He didn't want to be a Jedi! But she only kissed him on the cheek and left anyway. A small hand took his larger one, as he stood watching his mother's ship leave. He looked down to see his three year old cousin, her eyes smiling at him. She wasn't sure why he had come but she sure was glad that he had._

"It's alway been been that way", Ben said suddenly. "Just you and me. You're the only person who truly cares for me, who I trust. And it looks like it's going to stay that way."

At that, he turned and quickly retreated from the small hut. Too stunned to do anything, Kira stayed put.

* * *

"I should've gone after him," Kira whispered, now sitting across from Leia at her small table. "But I didn't know how-"

"You were upset as well," Leia finally spoke. Kira looked down at her hands, as Leia got up and went to sit in the chair closest to her niece.

"Kira," she said softly, as she reached out and took Kira's hand in both of hers. "I'm so sorry we didn't tell you. We should have. When you were old enough to understand who our family is, we should have told you the whole truth."

"Yes you should have," Kira agreed, and she placed her other hand on top of Leia's and looked in her eyes. "But I understand why you didn't. The same reason your father didn't tell you. Not because of a war, or danger from Palpatine, but because no child should have to grow up with guilt from their lineage."

Leia smiled softly at her forgiveness, and squeezed Kira's hands. But Kira could feel she was holding back. Leia wanted to know about that night. How could she not?

"I don't-" Kira swallowed and used every ounce of strength to keep her voice calm. "I'm not sure what exactly happened that night. I had been asleep, and when I woke up, the temple was burning, the students who weren't missing were dead, and Ben and Luke were both gone."

She shook her head and swallowed. "One of them must of put me into a Force induced coma, no way I could have slept through all of that."

"Luke left you?" Leia asked shocked.

"After I saw what had happened to the temple, I found Artoo, with my mother's ship. He said Luke had left him for me. And the ship. He said that I needed to leave, and hide. Or else, Snoke would find me", she barely whispered, struggling to get the words out. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Leia told her.

"I could have stopped it," Kira insisted. "After the announcement, I was so shocked and confused that I left Ben alone. For once I didn't know what to say to him, I was just trying to piece together my own feelings. Snoke took advantage."

"No, Kira, listen to me," Leia said forcefully, and gripped her hands tighter. "This was not your fault. It was Snoke's. And mine, and Luke's, and Han's. And Ben's. _But this was not your fault."_

Tears fell from Kira's eyes at Leia's words, and her aunt pulled her in for a tight embrace and held her closely.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Leia," she said again. "I should have come home."

"Yes you should have," Leia slightly chuckled, using Kira's earlier phrase. She pulled back from the younger girl, and combed back some blonde hair that had fallen in front of her face like she used to when Kira was a child. "But you're home now, everything else is in the past."

A knock on the door brought both Skywalker women back to reality and Kira leaned back into the chair and brushed away her tears with the back of her hands, as Leia called for the person behind to door to come in.

Kira didn't know exactly how long it'd been since she'd seen the old golden protocol droid, but upon his entering she felt an odd sense of familiarity. Similar to the feeling of comfort she got from Artoo.

"Excuse me, General, but Commander Dameron is hear to see you."

Leia nodded and rose to walk closer to the door as Poe entered. He gave the General a respectful nod and then looked over to Kira still sitting at the table.

"Hey princess," he said gently. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kira responded softly, and gave Poe a slight smile.

Leia, noticing Poe's odd gentleness, raised an eyebrow and looked between the two curiously before turning back to Poe.

"Oh! How rude of me!" Threepio suddenly piped up from Leia's side. "I don't notice you had a guest, General."

He moved over to Kira and started his usual introduction, and Kira smiled as she realized he hadn't recognized her yet.

"Hello, I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations-"

"Hello Threepio," Kira interrupted him, chuckling.

"I-oh! Miss Kira! General! Look who it is! Oh I am so glad to see you Miss Kira! After Master Luke's disappearance, I thought we'd never see you again."

Kira gave another short laugh as Leia rolled her eyes slightly in annoyance, trying to hide her smile as well.

"It's good to see you too, Threepio," Kira told him.

"By any chance, is Artoo with you Miss Kira? That might be an improbable question, as he was in the care of Master Luke last I saw him, but oh how I would be so thrilled to see him again-"

"Yes, Threepio," Kira stopped him again, and stood up. "Why don't I take you to him so we can leave these two to talk?"

"Oh that would be most wonderful Miss Kira!"

Kira nodded and started towards the door. As she passed Poe however, he reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"This again, flyboy?" Kira teased him.

"You're staying right?" Poe asked, ignoring her comment. Kira looked to Leia who, while still looking at the two of them suspiciously, obviously had the same question on her face.

"Yeah, I'm staying," Kira answered, to which both Resistance fighters let out a breath of relief.

"Good," Poe said said smiling, and released her hand.

"C'mon Threepio, I'll take you to Artoo," she said to the droid, her eyes never leaving Poe's until she turned and left the room, 3PO right on her heels.

As she walked down the hallway, and the feeling she got in her stomach whenever Poe was around started to wear off, dread began to fill her. While she was more then relieved at being with Leia again, she couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that came from lying to her.

What happened that night though, Leia couldn't know. It would destroy her. What Luke had done…

Kira shook her head and reminded herself that it was for the best. She had yet to forgive her father, but she agreed to protect his secret. He needed to stay far, far away. The fact of who Vader was already drew enough suspicion towards her family. Adding in Kylo Ren was bad enough, but Luke… No one could know. He needed to stay who he was. Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and legend. That gave people hope. The truth would destroy that hope.

Kira's thoughts were interrupted when a searing pain flashed through her head and heart.

"Ahh!" she cried out in pain, putting both hands on her temples as her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.

"Miss Kira! Are you alright?" Threepio cried. "Oh Commander! Thank the maker! I believe Miss Kira's taken ill!"

The pain still excruciating, Kira barely noticed a pair of strong hands grabbing her by the waist to pull and hold her up.

"Kira?" Poe said worried, as he placed one of hands on the side of her face.

As the pain faded, Kira lowered her hands, her breathing heavy. Her legs still weak, she welcomed Poe's help as she placed each of her hands on his forearms to grip for balance. Concern was still etched upon his face.

"What happened?" he questioned her.

"I don't, I don't know," she breathed. And she didn't exactly. But she knew where it had come from.

Kira had always had a deep connection to the Force, particularly when it came to other beings. It was so easy for her to connect with living creatures, she could create a Force bond with almost anyone. It was like everyone was an open book to her. And those cries of instant pain, hadn't belonged to her.

"General?" Poe suddenly asked, sounding even more worried as Kira stuttered. She turned her head and saw that Leia was behind her, having followed Poe when he ran out of the room after hearing Kira cry out.

The princess looked slightly pale, and fearful. Kira realized she must have felt that too, whatever it was, just not as strongly as Kira had.

"General Organa!" a new voice called, as a woman came running down the hallway towards Leia.

"What is it, Lieutenant Connix?" Leia asked, not taking her eyes off Kira.

"It's the First Order ma'am," Connix said, urgency in her voice. "They've taken out the Hosnian System."


	5. Chapter 5

Everything belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney except for my own character, Kira.

* * *

Kylo Ren stood at the main viewport of the _Finalizer_ , watching as _Starkiller_ _Base_ fired upon the Hosnian System. So many lives gone in seconds. He felt them all. Every single life that cried out in their final moments. He reached out and took it all in. Pain, anger, fear: they fueled his power. The dark side gave him more strength as he embraced his passions.

"Sir," a voice from behind him called, slightly nervous. He turned his head away from the window, a sign that the officer should continue.

"We've located the droid. A spy called it in moments ago, from Takodana."

 _Maz Kanata_ , Kylo thought. Of course Han Solo would go to her for help. "Prepare my ship and get a squadron of TIE fighters ready. As well as two stormtrooper transports."

"Yes sir," the officer said, and wasted no time leaving to follow orders.

Kylo turned back towards the view of space, now filled with the debris of planets.

Finally.

Finally he would claim the map and find Skywalker. He would be able to finish what Darth Vader started and destroy the last Jedi. At the memory of his old master, feelings of anger and betrayal began to rise up in his chest. The darkness swirled around him and he welcomed it as a friend.

He would find the droid and find Skywalker. And nothing and no one would stand in his way.

* * *

"What do you mean taken out?!" Poe questioned, as he turned from Kira to Connix.

"It's just gone, Commander. We're not sure how, but somehow they fired on it and now it's just destroyed. All the planets, the people. Just like, like-" Connix stuttered.

"Alderaan," Leia finished for her, and the young officer answered with a swift nod.

"That's what I felt," Kira said quietly. "All of those people, just...gone in an instant."

"I know," Leia answered. She'd felt this pain before when she'd been held back by her own father and forced to watch as her homeworld was destroyed.

"Wait, you _felt_ it? How could you-" Poe started to ask, but was interrupted as his comm started to beep.

"Dameron," he answered swiftly, still looking at Kira suspiciously.

"Commander," a voice responded. "We've got a lead on BB-8. A spy just called it in, says he's on Takodana."

"Maz?" Leia wondered aloud, looking slightly confused on how Maz had acquired their missing droid.

"Said he was brought there aboard the Millennium Falcon," the voice from Poe's comm continued.

"Han. Han has him," Leia confirmed to Poe, and looked over to Kira, who raised an eyebrow.

"We'll be right there," Poe responded as Leia started to lead the way to the control room.

Upon entering, every pair of eyes in the room turned to Leia, waiting for orders.

"Black, Blue, and Red squadrons will lead a counter attack once we arrive on Takodana," the General stated, not wasting any time.

"Counter attack?" Snap Wexley questioned.

"If our spies spotted the Falcon, then I have no doubt that the First Order has too. They'll get there first, as they tend to do. We'll need to secure the planet in order to get back BB-8," Leia explained, then nodded to Poe. "Commander Dameron will lead the attack."

Poe nodded, then looked to the rest of the room. "Pilots, suit up."

The room quickly moved into action, as pilots ran to their ships and Leia started organizing a transport to follow. Suddenly Kira felt very much out of place.

"Kira," Poe said suddenly, and she turned to him questionably. "I said for pilots to suit up."

Shocked, Kira turned to Leia, who nodded at her.

"We need all the help we can get. You're more than equipped to handle an X-wing. Go," the General commanded her. Kira smiled and went to follow Poe. Guess she really was part of the Resistance now.

"I lost my fifth man, Stevens, about sixth months ago," Poe told her. "You'll take over his old X-wing."

"You still have his ship? I thought you said you lost him," she said confused as they quickly made their way through the hanger.

"I did, it was a ground mission," he answered.

"I'm sorry," she told him softly.

"War's costly. Best way to honor the ones who don't make it out, is by making sure they didn't die for nothing," he explained as they reached the center hub, and he tossed her a flight suit. Kira's respect for Poe instantly rose. He was a good man, not someone with a super complex history trying to be good, just a fighter trying to make the galaxy a better place.

"Better put that on," he gestured to the flight suit.

As she slipped the orange jumpsuit on over her clothes, she got an odd feeling of pride. Her father had worn a similar suit when he flew for the Rebellion. Kira liked to think about that version of him more often. When he was just a pilot who wanted to help save the galaxy. Like Poe.

A set of beeps made her turn around, and she chuckled.

"No, of course I wasn't gonna fly without you Artoo," she assured him. "I was just about to call for you, I swear."

" _Good. You wouldn't make it without me anyway."_

She rolled her eyes and started walking over to the X-wing labeled _Black_ _Five_. As R2 was raised into the ship, she started to make her way up the latter.

"You sure you'll be alright, princess?" Poe's voice called from behind her and she turned her head to see him standing down by the latter, watching her.

"Don't worry about me, flyboy," she smiled as she climbed into the cockpit and took the helmet that the engineer who did the pre-flight check ups was holding out to her. "Good pilots run in the family."

Poe raised his brows at her answer as he watched the top hatch of her ship lower, but shook his head as he ran over to his own ship and boarded it. He'd figure that girl out sooner or later.

* * *

Rey stopped running and came to a sharp halt when she got to Maz's castle. She watched in horror as TIE fighter after TIE fighter fired upon the castle.

Finn! Han! Chewie! Rey's heart dropped as she realized they could all still be in there.

She jumped as she heard a noise from her right, and panicked when she saw it was a stormtrooper. She fumbled around for the blaster Han had given to her and shakily pointed it at the trooper. She pulled the trigger, but cursed herself when nothing happened and she realized the safety was still on. Managing to flip the switch and narrowly avoid a shot he took at her, she aimed it back towards the trooper, and fired. The first one missed, but she fired again and was surprised when the trooper fell.

" _Friend_ _Rey! Behind_ _you!"_

Turning at BB-8's warning, Rey fired at the approaching stormtroopers. She hit one but missed another, and he started firing at her. As he moved closer to her, she fired at him a few times. However, all of them missed, and were returned with shots of his own. Realizing how close he was getting, Rey ran.

* * *

Kira allowed her eyes to adjust as they exited hyperspace and started to enter Takodana's atmosphere.

"All wings report in," Poe's voice echoed through the comm's.

"Black Two standing by."

"Black Three standing by."

"Black Four standing by."

"Black Five standing by," Kira called out, checking to make sure her shields were up.

As they came upon what remained of Maz's castle, Kira got a good look at what was waiting for them. And she got nervous.

Not that she couldn't do this, she could. She was the granddaughter of Anakin kriffing Skywalker for crying out loud, not to mention the man who taught her to fly singlehandedly blew up the Death Star.

Everyone got nervous for their first actual battle though, right? Plus this whole being apart of a team thing was slightly new to her. The sound of Poe's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Go straight at 'em! Don't let these guys scare you!"

"Copy that."

"We're with you, Poe!"

Kira let go, and completely relied on her instincts. Taking in the battle around her, she zoned in on a TIE that was still firing on the castle.

She flew into it's path, trailing the pilot. Getting a steady target, she fired.

The TIE spun as it crashed into the forest.

"Nice one, Kira!" Poe cheered her on, and she smiled in satisfaction.

* * *

Kylo walked off the ramp of his shuttle and looked around. Maz Kanata's castle was completely in ruins. Good, that was one less scum filled hole for his father to cower away to. As he made his way deeper into the battle, he halted when he felt her.

The familiar presence that was once his only comfort, who he had believed to be dead, had also arrived on Takodana.

Kira Skywalker was alive.

Rage filled Kylo quickly. She was alive. And she had not come to him. He had believed her to be dead because he thought that if she were alive, surely she would have joined him. She wouldn't have left him, betrayed him, like everyone else had.

But she had. How could she. He had mourned her, had taken punishment from Snoke for even shedding a tear over her. And the whole time she had been alive.

Which meant she knew.

She knew where Luke Skywalker was.

Kylo was pulled from his thoughts as a trooper called out for him.

"Sir! The droid was spotted heading west, with a girl!"

* * *

As the air battle continued on, Kira easily took out two more fighters, though that was still nothing next to Poe. Completely focused and in tuned with the Force, she froze when she felt it.

 _He's_ _here_.

Kylo Ren was on Takodana. Not flying though, but on the ground. What would he be doing….

 _Oh_ _no_.

"Poe," she said into her comms link. "We gotta hurry. Kylo Ren's here, I think he's found your droid!"

"Ren? Kira, are you sure?" Poe questioned.

"Who is this girl again?" she heard another pilot ask.

"Positive," Kira told Poe, ignoring the speculation.

"Alright teams, focus everything you've got on pushing them outta here. Hit everything First Order you see, we need to make BB-8 not worth this trouble for them," Poe said into the open link.

* * *

Rey heard him before she saw him.

The quiet hum of a lightsaber, still fresh in her mind, she recognized it instantly.

Terrified, she started to slowly walk backwards, away from the sound. He came around the boulder, and she saw the frightening mask from her vision.

She jumped and started firing at him with her blaster, desperate to get away from him.

He blocked every single shot, and played along with her as she stumbled backwards and tried to run away. When his annoyance reached his peak, he swung his lightsaber to block her final shot and reached his hand out to her.

Rey froze.

Not in fear or shock, she just froze. She couldn't move anything, and she felt as though she would pass out from fear.

Kylo studied the girl before him.

Who was she? Why did she have the coveted droid, and how had she gotten ahold of his father's ship?

When the officer on the _Finalizer_ first told him of a girl, his thoughts had immediately gone to Skywalker's daughter. But this girl was not Kira.

He took long, slow strides towards her, looking her up and down. Rey, still frozen, tried not to let all of her fear show when he calmly said, "The girl I've heard so much about."

He continued walking, and took a few steps past her, looking as though he might circle her.

"The droid," he said and she felt the heat of his blade as he placed it threateningly besides her neck. "Where is it?"

Whether she was stubborn or too afraid to speak, Kylo didn't know. But upon her silence he stepped back to face her and put his hand out as he reached out to her with the Force.

Rey felt when he invaded her head and panicked, but still being frozen in her place she was unable to resist.

As he dove deeper into her mind, he found she wasn't even with the Resistance. She was just a scavenger from Jakku.

He saw how she had found the droid, refused to sell the thing, and then had run into the traitor. He watched through her mind as they found the old Corellian freighter, and then found it's old captain and first mate. And then he watched as she saw-

"The map," he said through his mask. "You've seen it."

"Sir," a voice came from behind Rey. "Resistance fighters! We need more troops."

"Pull the division out," Kylo said, as he stepped behind Rey. "Forget the droid. We have what we need."

Kylo caught her in his arms as she collapsed.

* * *

"They're pulling back," Jessika Pava, Poe's second-in-command called out, as the TIE fighters all started to retreat.

"Alright guys, nice work! Got confirmation that BB-8 is secure," Poe confirmed. "Let's go home."

Kira took a breath and followed the rest of Black Squadron off planet.

"Artoo, get ready for the jump to hyperspace," she told the droid as she put in the coordinates for D'Qar.

When they had entered hyperspace, Kira let her mind wander.

He knew. He knew she was alive. He had felt her just as she had felt him. Which meant her days of hiding were officially over.

Her first instinct was to run, but now that wasn't even an option. She didn't think she could leave Leia anyway, but if something happened to the Resistance, he would find her. And he would find her father. Even if, for some Force forsaken reason he didn't go after her, Snoke would find out and _he_ would go after her. Snoke would love nothing more then to have both of Darth Vader's grandchildren in his grasp.

Expect maybe destroy Luke Skywalker.

Kira let her head fall back against the headrest and groaned.

* * *

Poe gently set his X-wing down on the Resistance makeshift hanger, and started shutting it down. He sighed when he had to actually think about the procedures to shut his ship down, he hadn't done it himself in years. Not since he was training at the Republican Academy. Ever since then he'd had BB-8, and it felt almost unnatural to fly without him. As he raised his hatch, he heard a voice.

"I see why they call you the best pilot in the Resistance now."

He grinned at Kira's comment and climbed down the latter to meet her beside it.

"You were pretty amazing," she said obviously impressed.

"Well you weren't so bad yourself," he told her. "Where'd you learn to fly? The academy?"

"No, actually, my father taught me," she smiled sadly, and crossed her arms uncomfortably. "Listen Poe, I haven't been completely honest with you, and I feel like I-"

"No," Poe told her, and took one of her hands. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. _You_ saved _my_ life, you don't owe me anything."

"That's just it, I owe you everything," she said softly and looked down at their clasped hands. "If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have come here. I wouldn't have come back to Leia."

"Come back?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "So you do know her?"

"She's my family," Kira said quietly, and Poe opened his mouth to question her, but was interrupted but a squeal of beeps.

Poe turned and in less then a second had a huge smile on his face as he ran to meet the little orange and white BB unit.

"Bee Bee Ate, my buddy!" he kneeled down to the droid's level, and Kira smiled at his obvious relief.

"This the droid that has caused so much trouble?" she asked as she walked closer to the pair.

"One and the same!" Poe chuckled, and turned back to BB-8. "Who saved you?"

" _Friend Rey and Friend Finn did!"_

"Where is he?" Poe asked, rushed, and he and Kira both looked up at a new voice.

"Poe?" a dark-skinned man asked and upon recognizing Poe, started quickly making his way over.

Poe laughed and stood up. "Ohhh no!"

Both men then started running towards each other, and embraced upon meeting.

"Poe Dameron you're alive?!"

"Buddy!"

Kira smiled at the scene but also raised an eyebrow at their embrace. Was this some sort of old flame of Poe's? Ignoring the subtle sting of jealousy in her stomach, she started walking over to them with BB-8 on her heels.

"So are you!" Poe told the other man.

"What happened?"

"What happened is I woke up from the crash, no you, no ship, nothing! BB-8 says you saved him!"

"No, no, no, it wasn't just me," his friend tried to explain but Poe kept going.

"You completed my mission, Finn I- that's my jacket?" Poe noticed and Kira let out a snort at the realization. The man, Finn, Kira presumed, went to remove the jacket at Poe's statement.

"No, no, no!" Poe stopped him. "Keep it, it suits you. You're a good man Finn."

At his again flirtatious action, Kira's jealousy returned. Did he just flirt with absolutely everyone?

Annoyed with herself at even being jealous, she shook her head slightly. It was then that Poe remembered her.

"Finn, this is Kira," he turned and surprisingly took her hand and pulled her a little closer. "You two have a lot in common already. We found each other on Jakku and she saved me."

"Well, technically we ran away from some stormtroopers together," she corrected with a smile, not pulling away from Poe. Her ugly feeling of jealousy thankfully gone, she looked to Finn and smiled, realizing he must be the stormtrooper that saved Poe from the Finalizer. "It's nice to meet you Finn."

"You too, Kira," he nodded, and then turned back to his friend. "Poe, I need your help."


	6. Chapter 6

Everything belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney except for my own character, Kira.

* * *

Kira, Poe, and Finn all raced down the stairs to the control room. BB-8 rolling behind them, they made their way over to Leia.

"General Organa," Poe called. "Sorry to interrupt."

Leia turned away from the group of officers she was speaking to and Poe gestured to Finn.

"This is Finn, he needs to talk to you."

"And I need to talk to him," Leia responded and walked closer to Finn. "That was incredibly brave what you did. Renouncing the First Order, saving this man's life-"

"Thank you ma'am, but a friend of mine was taken prisoner," Finn started, the urgency in his voice louder than ever.

"Han told me about the girl," Leia sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Han's here?" Kira asked, surprised.

"I came back on the Falcon with him," Finn told her.

Poe noticed Kira's obvious surprise and forced himself to look away and focus on the issue at hand.

"Finn's familiar with the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian system, he worked on the base," Poe told the general.

"We're desperate for anything you can tell us," Leia said to Finn.

"That's where my friend was taken," Finn said. "I've gotta get there fast."

"And I will do everything I can to help, but first you need to tell us all you know."

* * *

Kira made her way back out to the makeshift hanger. Poe, Finn, Leia, and the rest of the Resistance commanding officers were still discussing the details of the so-called "Starkiller Base". Kira had listened for a while, but found that she was being pulled back outside by something. A feeling, the Force maybe, but something.

Her memories of her uncle were distant. She'd spent the biggest chunk of time with Han when she and Ben had stayed with Han and Leia for about a month and a half after her mother had died. Then later, he had come to the academy a week after Ben's eighteenth life-day. She remembered he'd come with gifts for the both of them and had tried to awkwardly charm his way back into Ben's good graces but his attempts had only ended with he and Ben arguing. He had left in a hurry, running back to his life of smuggling like always. Kira hadn't held a grudge against him like Ben had. After all, he wasn't _her_ father. _She_ wasn't the one he had abandoned over and over again. But she had always found it frustrating that the two of them couldn't find some way to appreciate each other. Particularly after her mother was gone, and Kira hadn't even gotten a chance to fight with her.

Kira spotted the old freighter, but only got about a two second look when her view was completely blocked by fur. The next thing she knew, she was being tightly embraced with her feet coming off the ground.

"Chewie!" she laughed. He put her down and rested his hands on her shoulders, still talking.

"I know, I know," she said, trying to get him to shut up. "I know, I should have. I'm sorry, I just-"

She was interrupted as the Wookiee again pulled her into a tight embrace. She chuckled as she moved some of his fur out of her face.

"I missed you to," she answered his last remark.

"Chewie, come on! Don't strangle the girl to death!" a gruff voice came from behind Chewbacca, and Kira stepped back to see Han Solo standing a few feet from them.

Chewie, noticing the sudden tension, made some comment about going to the medic for his shoulder and left the two alone.

Han looked at her for a moment before greeting her.

"Hey Kira," he took a step towards her. "Look at you, all grown up. Last time I saw you, you were what? Ten? Eleven?"

"Eight," she corrected and she noticed his attempt to hide a wince. "I was eight the last time you saw me."

"Long time then," he said. "That would make you what now? Twenty?"

"Twenty-one," Kira said after he had taken another step towards her.

Han took a breath and gave a nod. "Like I said, all grown up."

A moment passed before Kira spoke again.

"Aren't you gonna ask me where I've been?" she tilted her head.

"The thought crossed my mind," he slightly smiled. "But being myself, I understand. I know what it's like to want to run away."

"To want?" Kira raised a brow. "You know what it is to actually run away."

This time Han did wince, and Kira did not budge.

"Yeah, guess I deserved that one," he said.

Kira sighed and let her shoulders fall, seeing his hurt at her comment. "I'm sorry, that wasn't fair."

"No, it was," he said, "I wasn't there as much as I should have been. I wasn't there for Ben. And I suppose you saw the pieces I left behind."

"Yeah well, I shouldn't have left when I did, I should have come back to Leia," Kira said softly.

"Better late than never," Han shrugged. "Your aunt's just glad to have you back."

Kira nodded and then looked down awkwardly with her hands tucked behind her flight suit.

"For what it's worth," Han spoke up. "I'm really glad you're safe Kira."

Kira looked up, and into Han's eyes. She saw true relief in them, as well as regret. She stepped forward and did something that surprised both of them. She wrapped her arms around her uncle's waist and put her head on his chest. And for one moment, she let herself pretend she was five-years-old again. When Han was just "fun Uncle Han", and Ben was still Ben, and Luke was still her father, and her mother was still alive. And they were all still a family.

Han froze as the small blonde grasped him, completely shocked. But he noticed her desperation that she'd been holding back on. She'd been alone a long time. Her demeanor reminded him of a lonely rebel princess that had sought comfort from a similar feeling on a small moon the eve before battle, all those years ago.

He slowly wrapped his arms around her, and patted her back awkwardly. Then her voice barely whispered into his chest.

"I've missed you, Uncle Han."

"I've missed you too, kid."

* * *

Rey jumped as she woke.

Her memories of Takodana flooding back to her, she panicked as she tried to move but found her wrists and ankles restrained. Looking down, she realized she was being held to some sort of table. She looked up to find the masked creature from the forest sitting in front of her.

"Where am I?" she asked, trying and failing to hide her fear.

Kylo looked at the girl from his seat across from her.

"You're my guest," he shrugged.

"Where are the others?" she inquired.

"You mean the murderers, traitors, and thieves you call friends?" he sneered. "You'll be relieved to hear I have no idea."

When she answered with only a glare, Kylo continued.

"You still wanna kill me?" he questioned, generally confused.

"That happens when you're being hunted by a creature in a mask," she answered, not losing her scowl.

Kylo almost smiled. Almost.

This girl obviously needed some persuasion. Usually his mask drew fear from others, fear of the unknown. But not her. The mask gave her a faceless being to hate. And perhaps it would be harder to resist him, if it was harder to hate him.

He reached up and clicked the buttons to remove his helmet.

Rey held her breath in anticipation for what she might see. However, it was almost anticlimactic when she was met with nothing but the face of a man.

He was young, not as young as her, but still young. His dark hair fell in waves around his ears, which she noticed were a little to big for his head. His eyes though, were the most contradicting of all. A deep chocolate brown, much too soft for someone so evil.

After dropping his helmet onto a pile of ash, he slowly made his way over until he was directly in front of her.

Rey forced herself to not make eye contact with him. She found it difficult. Whether it be intrigue or pure curiosity, she discovered that deep down she didn't really want to look away from him. It frightened her.

"Tell me about the droid," he commanded, in a much softer tone then Rey had expected.

"He's a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator-"

"He's carrying a section of the navigational chart. We have the rest, recovered from the archives of the Empire. But we need the last piece. And somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you. _You_. A scavenger," Kylo stated, looking into her eyes.

Rey faltered for a moment. _How did he know?!_

When she didn't respond, Kylo looked deeper into her and stated boldly, "You know I can take whatever I want."

Trepidation flashed across Rey's eyes, as she stayed still and unmoving, fearful of what he might do. Fearful, but curious. What did he mean, take? Rey's first reaction was to resist, to pull away from him. She'd been in similar positions on Jakku. Older men, thinking they could take from her what they wanted. She'd proved them wrong, and they hadn't bothered her again. But her second reaction to Kylo's statement scared her more than his actual words. The thought of him _taking_ from her…. She felt... _excited_.

She couldn't actually be _attracted_ to this monster, could she?

Rey cursed her body for betraying her as she felt her limbs go weak and core tighten when he stepped closer to her, reaching his hand out towards her face. She swallowed, and tried to recoil, desperate to get away from this man. But then realized she had nowhere to go.

Kylo reached out with the Force, searching for the girl's energy, her mind. But what he found surprised him. Surprised them both.

They felt it at the same time. The connection, the feeling that passed between them. An energy they recognized in each other.

For a moment, Kylo wanted her. He wanted to keep her, to teach her, to devour her.

He wanted her more than anything.

And for a moment, Rey wanted him too.

But then it was gone, and they were adversaries again.

The feeling from Takodana suddenly came back, and Rey found she couldn't move. She quietly strained in agony, attempting to resist Kylo's probing.

He stepped closer to her, walking around until he was almost pressed up against her side. His head tilted downward as he concentrated on her mind.

"You're so lonely…. so afraid to leave…" he said gently, then his lips twitched upward into a slight smile. "At night, desperate to sleep…. You imagine an ocean. I see it- I see the island."

Tears streamed down Rey's face as she resisted. She tried to break free, but couldn't seem to budge.

"And Han Solo," Kylo continued. "You feel like he's the father you never had. He would have disappointed you."

With his hand still near her face, Rey's eyes fierced through the agony.

"Get out of my head," she managed to growl. Kylo reacted by stepping back into his original place in front of her, his gloved hand still reaching out.

"I know you've seen the map. It's in there. And now you'll give it to me," he told her.

Again, Kylo reached out with the Force towards Rey. He sensed her feelings of fear, anger...confusion. Curios, he went deeper and found that in fact, she was confused about _him_. He made her feel...things.

Kylo almost pitied her for a moment, but mostly he just understood. The feeling of wanting her, of needing her, had not yet gone away.

"Don't be afraid, I feel it too," he comforted her.

Where her sudden strength came from, Rey didn't know, "I'm not giving you anything."

"We'll see," Kylo responded.

He peered into her eyes intensely. When she met his gaze, he found that despite her pain, she was very strong.

Rey saw when his confidence started to melt away. Kylo had slammed up against a barrier in her mind. He was less certain by the moment, as Rey grew in strength. Finding a weak spot, Rey did the unthinkable.

She went into _his_ head. Saw _his_ mind.

"You," she revealed. "You're afraid…. That you will never be as strong as Darth Vader!"

Kylo withdrew his hand immediately, as though she had burned it. As Rey's body was released from his grip, she breathed deeply, not breaking his gaze. It was then that Kylo Ren started to leave.

* * *

Poe entered into the sunlight of D'Qar and looked around. After talking with Finn and Leia, he wondered where Kira had gone and decided to follow her outside. He found her in the middle of the bay, talking to….

 _Kriff! That was Han Solo!_

Poe shook his head in amazement. This girl was surprising him more and more. The fact that she knew Solo wasn't a shock, considering how close she seemed with Leia. But Poe knew that not just anyone could get along with Han Solo. And given their comfortable body language, Poe could only assume that they obviously knew each other well.

He took a breath and walked over to them.

"Kira," he called out and couldn't help but grin when she turned and smiled at him. "I was wondering where you went off to."

He came and stood next to Kira and looked over to Han, respectfully.

"General Solo, it's an honor, sir," Poe held out his hand and after a moment of looking the dark haired pilot up and down, Han shook it. "Poe Dameron."

"Dameron?" Han questioned. "Kes's boy?"

"Yes sir, I believe he served under you," Poe nodded. Kira raised her eyebrows, impressed.

"Member of my Pathfinders," Han remarked. "Good fighter, Kes was. How's he doing?"

"He's good, sir. Still on Yavin IV," Poe stated and glanced over to Kira.

"Uh huh, good to hear," Han commented, noticing the strange demeanor between the pilot and his niece.

"Well, I just wanted to check on you," Poe told Kira, giving her one of his small smiles. "And to tell you that General Organa wants to take a look at the map soon."

"The map?" Kira questioned.

"What BB-8's been hiding," Poe informed her, then nodded to the both of them. "I'll see you inside."

As Kira watched him walk away, Han said something to her.

"Huh?" she asked, turning her head back to face him.

"I asked if you knew what that map is to?" Han said, getting serious and stepping closer to her.

"No, I didn't even know it was a map BB-8 had. Poe just said it was important information," she shrugged.

Han sighed. "Kira, it supposedly leads to your father."

Kira could feel her heart stop. "What?"

"The map. It's a map to Luke," Han reinforced.

Wait, all this time, BB-8 had a map to…. How had Poe even acquired it?

The realization hit Kira hard. Poe and his droid had been on Jakku.

 _Lor San Tekka._ He must've given Poe the piece of the map. Dammit.

That's what Leia's secret mission for Poe had been? She was trying to find her brother?

Kira's heart almost broke when she realized that Leia must be thinking that Luke could be their saving grace. If she only knew…

"Kira," Han's voice broke her out of her shock. "I almost hate to ask this cause then this whole thing might've been for nothing, but do you know where Luke is?"

Kira swallowed as she worked to keep the truth from her face. She took a breath and looked up at Han as she calmly stated, "No. After the academy was destroyed I woke up and only found Artoo and my mother's ship. No Luke, no Ben, nobody."

Han nodded, obviously disappointed. He gave Kira his best half smile though as he put his hand on her back and started leading them back inside. "Come on, let's go see what that hot shot pilot of your's found."

* * *

Kira and Han joined Leia at the center of command just as Threepio had plugged in the drive from BB-8. Poe stepped up beside Kira, but Kira could only spare him a very forced half smile before she turned her head back to Leia. Keeping the truth to herself was killing her.

"General, I regret to inform you, but this map recovered from Bee Bee Ate is only partially completed," Threepio informed Leia as the map came to life before their eyes. "And even worse, it matches no charted system on record. We simply do not have enough information to locate Master Luke."

"I can't believe I was so foolish to think I could find Luke and bring him home," Leia said sadly, and Kira's stomach felt even tighter.

"Leia," Han said.

"Don't do that," Leia snapped at her husband as she started to walk away.

"Do what?" Han asked.

"Anything," Leia answered and Han looked over to Kira, who shrugged, and then to Threepio, who simply said, "Princesses."

As Han walked away to talk to his wife, Kira leaned slightly forward with her hands resting on the rail, and took a deep breath.

"Something wrong?" Poe's voice asked her, and she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Have you ever been in a position where everyone around you genuinely thought something was the right thing to do, but you knew it was wrong?"

Poe slightly scoffed at her comment. "All the time."

"What do you do?" she begged quietly.

"You follow your instincts," he said softly. "Cause in the end, they're usually trying to tell you something for a reason."

* * *

"The scavenger resisted YOU?!" Snoke's voice boomed through the chamber.

Kylo Ren stood alone, without his mask, as he explained to his master why he could not inquire the information that he so desired. "She is strong with the Force! Untrained, but stronger then she knows!"

"And the droid?" Snoke asked, patience brewing.

Kylo opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the most irritating voice imaginable before he got the chance.

"Ren believed it was no longer valuable to us," General Hux stated, as he made his way up the walkway to face the Supreme Leader. "That _the girl_ , was all we needed. As a result, the droid has most likely been returned to the hands of the enemy. They may have the map already."

"Then the Resistance must be destroyed before they get to Skywalker," Snoke said, annoyance in his voice.

"We have their location," Hux informed him. "We tracked their reconnaissance ship to the Illenium System."

"Good," Snoke breathed. "Then we will crush them once and for all. Prepare the weapon."

Unwilling to let Hux overshadow him, Kylo stepped forward,

"Supreme Leader I can get the map from the girl, I just need your guidance," he said, humbling himself.

"If what you say about this girl is true," Snoke sneered. "Bring her to me."

Kylo nodded and turned, leaving the chambers. Digging deep inside himself, he clung to the feelings of anger he had for the girl.

In doing so, he hoped they would be powerful enough to cover his anger at Snoke. As much as he hated to admit it. The thought of Snoke getting his hands on her made him seethe, but it was her own fault. She could've avoided this by giving him the map.

Kylo focused on that fact, honing in on his anger for her. It was the only thing he could think of to hide his extreme worry for her.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney except for my own character, Kira.

AN: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a literal YEAR but well, life gets complicated sometimes and tbh I just couldn't get my grounds on where I wanted this story to go after TLJ. So I just decided to brainstorm and work on possible outcomes until TROS was released and I could make the decision on how much of the story line I wanted to keep in my fanfic. But now after some fanfiction soul surfing, I am excited to FINALLY be back into this story! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Kira, Poe, and Finn were gathered around the map table, which was displaying a wireframe hologram of a rolling view of the surface of Starkiller Base. With them were Han, Leia, C-3PO, Statura, Admiral Ackbar, Brance, Snap, Major Ematt, and Nien Nunb, among others. An urgent, messy strategy session was definitely in play.

"The scan data from Snap's reconnaissance flight confirms Finn's report," Poe announced to the group. Kira looked over to her left at him, hearing the distress in his voice. She could feel Finn's anxiousness radiating off him from her other side. Snap Wexley's voice pulled her back to look at the hologram.

"They've somehow created a hyper lightspeed weapon built within the planet itself," Snap tried to explain.

"A laser cannon?" Brance questioned.

"We're not sure how to describe a weapon of this scale," Snap swallowed.

"It's another Death Star!" Major Ematt exclaimed.

"I wish that were the case, Major," Poe said as he hit a control and a wireframe of the Death Star appeared before them.

"This was the Death Star," Poe hit another control making the image of the Death Star shrink. As the surface area of Starkiller Base was drawn into a larger image, it revealed the entire base planet. The Death Star was a minuscule satellite in comparison.

"And _this_ , is Starkiller Base," Poe confirmed. Kira felt her stomach drop as she took in the size of the superweapon.  
"So, it's big," Han commented.

"How is it possible to power a weapon of this size?" Admiral Ackbar questioned, the shock in his voice obvious.

"It uses the power of the sun," Finn informed them. "As the weapon is charged, the sun is drained until it disappears."

As Finn spoke, an officer ran up to Leia and handed her a datacard.

"The First Order; they're charging the weapon again, now," Leia said, and then heartbreakingly looked up from the datacard. "Our system is the next target."

"Oh my," Threepio cried. "Without the Republic fleet, we're doomed."

The reaction Kira felt from the room was mixed: fear, anger, guilt (she was guessing from Leia) but from Poe she felt determination. Poe and someone else….

"Okay, how do we blow it up?" Han spoke up and every eye turned to him. "There's always a way to do that."

When no one said anything, Leia watched the silence, frustrated. Finally, deciding to rally them, she said, "Han's right."

Han raised his brows, surprised at her support.

With Leia's encouragement, the room's gloomy atmosphere started to pick up.

"In order for that amount of power to be contained, that base would need some kind of thermal oscillator…" Admiral Statura stated, obviously hesitant.

"There is one," Finn piped up. All eyes were on Finn as he moved around the hologram to a location on the Starkiller Base. Kira watched with the others as the image was zoomed in and a giant black hexagonal structure appeared before them **.**

"Precinct 47. Here," the former stormtrooper pointed to the hologram.

"If we can destroy that oscillator, it might destabilize the core and cripple the weapon," Admiral Statura hypothesized.  
"... Maybe the planet," Major Ematt concluded.

"We'll go in there and we'll hit that oscillator with everything we got," Poe said, trying to bolster spirits.

"They have defensive shields that our ships cannot penetrate,"Admiral Ackbar pointed out.  
"We _disable_ the shields," Han suggested, and then he turned to Finn. "Kid, you worked there, what do you got?"  
Finn paused for a beat before answering, "I can do it."  
"I like this guy," Han gestured to Leia and Kira suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as she let out a slight smile.

"I can disable the shields," Finn started. "But I have to be there, on the planet-"  
"We'll get you there," Han assured him, and Kira raised her brows.  
"Han, how?" Leia asked.  
"If I told you, you wouldn't like it," Han answered, questionably.

"That doesn't sound good," Kira muttered under her breath to Finn, who spared her a worried glance.

"So we disable the shields, take out the oscillator and we blow up their big gun," Poe concluded, and then looked around at the rest of the room. "All right. Let's go!"

* * *

Rey struggled yet again against the restraints on her wrists, but was still met with disappointment. She had to get out of there, and get back to Finn. And she had to do it before Kylo Ren came back. Rey didn't think she would have the strength to face him again.

As she looked up and away from her wrists, she reached out and felt the presence of the trooper that was guarding her cell. She now clung to the power that had frightened her so much before, desperate to escape. She clung to it….and listened.

"You will remove these restraints... and leave this cell, with the door open."

Her voice shook as the words left her mouth. This was ridiculous, what was she even hoping for?

The trooper in the doorway turned his head at her voice. "What did you say?"

Rey took a few shallow breaths and tried again. Her voice shook even more then before, and this time she didn't pause in her wording. "You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open."

The trooper slowly took a few steps until he stood over her. "I will tighten those restraints, scavenger scum."

Focusing in on the guard, Rey channeled all her energy into this frightening power that now seemed to be helping her. With a steady gaze and a calm voice, she spoke one last time.

"You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open."

The stormtrooper's stance changed immediately, going from a dangerously threatening position to well… nothing at all.

"I will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open."

Shock was evident on Rey's face as the guard turned to leave the cell. Taking one last chance, Rey blurted out, "And you'll drop your weapon!"

"And I'll drop my weapon," she heard him say and the sound of the blaster hitting the floor gave her the signal that it was time to move.

* * *

As Kylo stormed through the base, his thoughts went to the girl. The Supreme Leader wanted her, wanted to see the girl that had nearly bested his best student with her power of the Force. The entire walk there, Kylo was plotting. He planned to ask Snoke if _he_ could take the girl and train her himself. The only other options were Snoke taking the girl under his wing, and she becoming even more powerful than Kylo, or Snoke killing the girl. Neither of those two scenarios left a good taste in Kylo's mouth.

When he stepped into the interrogation room however, Kylo's determination was met with something else. Fury.

Taking in the now empty room, he let the anger he felt flow through him.

"No, no!" he wailed as his lightsaber burst to life in his hand, and he took his fury out on the room. He had to find her. For her sake and for his own.

* * *

"Kira," Poe called as he made his way over to where she was conversing with Artoo next to her X-Wing.

Kira turned towards him and smiled at the sight of the dashing young pilot.

"Hope you're not coming to question my flying skills again, Commander," she jokingly challenged him.

"After the way you flew today? Never," he answered with a small laugh. "You just seemed...troubled after the meeting. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Her stomach flipped at his concern.

"Oh-" she stammered. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just been bit of an overwhelming day. Honestly I'm looking forward to getting back out there and blowing something up."

"Ah well, I'm glad to hear it," he chuckled.

He swallowed and went to step closer to her. Her eyes rose to meet his in surprise but she didn't back away. He brought his hand up to tuck a loose blonde lock behind her ear.

"Kira I-" he started, but then realized he didn't really know what to say. Just that he wanted her to live, cause if he missed out on getting to know who this girl truly was, it might be his biggest regret yet.

"Yes?" she asked softly, not dropping his gaze.

"Just be careful, please," he pleaded softly. Her head moved back slightly in surprise, but then she understood. Because she felt the same.

Kira smiled softly and leaned up and kissed his cheek lightly.

"You too," she whispered inches away from his face.

He looked to meet her gaze, and started to move in-

"Kira!" A voice called from behind him, and both pilots jerked away in surprise. Kira cleared her throat as she looked up to see Han walking towards them.

"I'll see you after," Poe said as he pulled her gaze back to him, almost insisting that she come back.

She nodded at him with a small smile and he returned it as he walked away towards his own ship.

"Sir," he nodded at Han as he past him.

"Dameron," Han muttered back and Kira watched as her uncle followed Poe with his gaze and they both saw when Poe stopped to give Finn a reassuring pat on the back.

"If that kid's anything like his parents, he might actually be worth something," Han said and Kira raised a brow in curiosity. Han then finished his few steps toward Kira as she noticed he had something in his hand.

"I've got something for ya," he informed her and held out an old Nubian blaster. She recognized it immediately.

"Is that…" but she couldn't finish her question.

Han gave a stiff nod. "The very same. Mara left it with me for a mission I had before, well, you know."

Oh yeah, Kira knew. She stared down at her mother's old blaster in his hand, before slowly reaching out and taking it.

The sleekness of Naboo shined throughout the entire weapon, and Kira felt humbled at the thought of possessing it. But not because it once belonged to Mara Jade.

"I don't know if you know, but Luke gave that to Mara when she joined us back in the day. I guess it was supposed to be his way of saying he trusted her or something like that. Just thought you'd like to have it," Han grumbled, obviously not comfortable with the "mushy stuff."

Because he trusted her. She knew the story. It was one of the only things she distinctly remembered her mother telling her. That Luke giving her that blaster was a transfer of trust, as it had once belonged to _his_ mother.

Kira turned the weapon over, and saw on the bottom the royal insignia of Naboo. Queen Amidala's royal insignia, to be exact.

Kira put the weapon that was originally her grandmother's blaster securely on her belt.

"Thank you," she said sincerely to Han. Kira tried to forget many aspects of her family as possible, but Padmé Amidala's courage was not one of those aspects.

"Thought you might like it, but I presume you had a weapon of your own on you if need be," he told her, brows raised.

"My blaster doesn't fit into my flight suit as comfortably," she said point blank.

"Not the weapon I was talking about," Han insisted.

When Kira still pretended to be oblivious, Han sighed and shook his head as he stepped closer to her.

"Be careful up there, kid," he said as he patted her shoulder. She nodded and smiled as they shared a wordless exchange, and then she turned to climb the ladder into her X-wing.

"And Kira," Han called again, and she turned to look back towards him from the top of latter.

For a moment, Han was back in an old rebel hanger on Yavin IV. A young rebel pilot possibly in over his head had looked back at him, and Han uttered the same phrase now as he did then. "May the force be with you."


	8. Chapter 8

Everything belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney except for my own character, Kira.

* * *

This was way different then _anything_ Kira had ever flew.

TIE fighters and X-wings flew past her vision in a whirl of missiles and explosions.

Death was everywhere.

She and the rest of Black Squadron had flown in on Poe's command and continually hit the oscillator until they had been overrun by TIE fighters and ground fire.

"Poe, you've got one on your tail!" she heard Snap call out over the comm.

"I see him," Poe responded and Kira saw as Black One took a very skilled dive and pulled up last minute, sending the TIE crashing into the ground.

The relief Kira felt was short lived as another TIE came up right behind Poe as he corrected his course, not giving him enough time to see it. Kira turned and dove toward it quickly, coming up right behind the enemy pilot. One skilled shot from her was all it took to take the ship down. But as she fired, she heard a warning squeal from R2-D2.

"What-" she started to ask, but then she saw it.

Being too close to the ground, she didn't have time to out maneuver the missile and barely had time to turn so that it hit her wing and not her cockpit.

"Agh!" she reacted as her controls started to shut down in front of her, and she could see flames burning up her ship over her shoulder.

"Artoo," she warned, pressing every button she could think of quickly. "Prepare for crash landing."

Kira heard Poe's distant shouts of her name over the comm just before the X-Wing hit the ground.

* * *

Rey never thought she'd be so relieved to see two smugglers and an ex-stormtrooper in her life. As she ran through the base with Han, Chewie, and Finn, she realized that it was particularly easy to escape. Because no one was looking for them at the moment. And when they got outside, Rey saw why.

A huge battle was currently taking place in the sky above the First Order base. And from the looks of it, even Rey could tell the Resistance was struggling.

* * *

Kira struggled at first to get out of her restraints and get the door of her cockpit open.

 _Jammed_ , she thought. Taking out the Nubian blaster, she blew a hole into the latch. Throwing her shoulder against the cover, it opened with a crack.

Standing up a little straighter and putting her hands on the side of the ship to climb out, a searing pain shot up her left wrist. Moving it around, Kira realized that it must have been badly sprained in the crash.

 _Great_ , she thought.

Jumping onto the ground, she turned to Artoo, who had just lowered himself.

"You okay?" she asked him. He beeped a response at her and she nodded. As she started walking away from the ship, the droid followed.

"Good, let's find a way to get-" Kira was cut off as her X-wing was blown up by a passing TIE. She felt when the heat from the explosion hit her back and she was thrown forward several feet into the air, landing in snow. Her head hit something hard when she hit the ground and her ears rang when she slowly looked up to see what was left of Black Five completely on fire. She shook her head as sound started to come back to her, but the shaking made the pain in her temple even worse and she brought her hand up to the source.

"Shit," she muttered when she pulled her hand away and saw blood dripping off her fingers. It was then that she remembered she was not alone.

"Artoo!" she called desperately and looked around as she got up, more worried about her friend then her head. "ARTOO!"

Her blonde hair whipped around when she heard the familiar beeping and she started toward the noise as fast as possible.

The older droid was stuck in the snow upside down, his wheels sticking up in the air and moving as he tried to correct himself.

"I got you bud," she told him and used all her might to flip him back over. She started wiping all of the leftover snow off of him when she said, "I thought I lost you there for a second."

He beeped back a response that roughly translated too, " _Well I have been through worse._ " She smiled and shook her head. "Come on, we've gotta get some cover before they see us out in the open and fire on us again."

She saw in the distance what seemed to be the oscillator, and decided that was their best bet. She had no means of communication on her, but if she could get Artoo to a computer then maybe he could get word out that she was alive and needed, well, a lift.

Kira would have preferred to find a ship herself and get back in the fight but she didn't know where the hangar was and if the Resistance succeeded in their mission then she wouldn't have time to find one.

When they finally got to the outside of a door to the oscillator, she started to open up a latch to help Artoo plug in, but the borrowed flight suit Poe had gotten her last minute was falling over her hands and making things slightly more difficult. She took the top half off and tied the sleeves around her waist, leaving her upper half only in her white undershirt. However, seeing as it was snowing outside, she almost reconsidered pulling them back on when a blaster bolt barely missed her and hit the wall behind her.

"Hurry Artoo, find out what's going on. We have to find a way out of here," she told the droid as she moved around to cover him as he worked. She used the edge of the wall for coverage, and held her blaster ready as she peeked around the corner to see what she was facing.

Four snowtroopers were firing at her, using a nearby landspeeder for coverage. Artoo beeped at her as she fired at the nearest one, taking him down after two shots and then hiding again behind the corner.

"What do you mean they've shut communications down?" she shouted as blaster fire surrounded them.

" _Well not all communications per say, just all that don't require high security clearance_."

Kira groaned. "Forget about that then, just get this door open so we can get away from these troopers!"

30 seconds later and another trooper down, the door swooshed open behind Kira and she ran just inside. Telling R2 to get inside quickly, she covered the little droid while he rolled in, and then shut the door behind him. When she turned around though, she froze.

She felt it before she saw it. She'd been so focused on the battle that she hadn't even noticed this feeling of dread within the force, but it was everywhere now.

Down below, on the bridge crossing the oscillator, stood Han Solo. With none other than Kylo Ren.

"Oh no," Kira whispered and looked up when she felt a similar feeling a fear from someone else. Finn stood on a platform above, and next to him was the presence Kira felt. She was tall, beautiful, and brunette. Wearing something that looked like it came from a desert planet, Kira realized this must have been the girl Finn so desperately wanted to save; Rey.

Her attention was taken back down to the bridge when she heard voices.

"Take off the mask, you don't need it," Han told Kylo fiercely.

"What do you think you'll see if I do?" Kylo asked. Kira felt anger rolling in waves off him, but she also felt something else. Fear.

"The face of my son," Han stated and stepped even closer to the darksider.

Kira's breath halted when Kylo went to remove the mask. She hadn't seen her cousin since that dreadful night….

The mask hit the bridge with a thud. And Kira stared at the face of Ben Solo.

Everything from that night came back thudding to her in waves. The pain, the betrayal, the deaths.

Ben, no, _Kylo Ren_ , stepped closer to Han and Kira had trouble hearing their exchange of words from her spot. But she felt it all.

Kylo was a mess. Completely being ripped in half by the light and dark inside of him.

Light! There was light in him! Kira gripped the railing in front of her, sensing what Han was trying to do and praying with every bone in her body that he succeeded.

She saw her long-lost-cousin slowly start to move to grab something, and then wearily go to hand it to Han. His lightsaber. Kira held her breath as she saw Han reach out to take it from him. This was it. He was coming back. He would come back and her family could be together again. They could defeat the First Order and Snoke together!

But then the loud noise of the saber coming to life crushed Kira's hopes in a split second. And her heart screamed out in agony as the blade pierced through Han.

She heard several creams of "No!" and she wasn't sure if it was hers, Finn's, or Rey's, or possibly all of theirs. Kylo Ren looked directly at his dying father and Kira watched his lips utter a single phrase.

 _Thank you_.

Han moved his hand up to his son's, his murderer's, cheek and looked into his eyes one last time. And then Han Solo fell to the depths of Starkiller base.

Kira's hands gripped the railing as she fought the urge to fall to her knees.

No, no, no, NO!

Han was gone.

And so was Ben.

A Wookiee's cry pulled Kira out of her immediate shock and she looked up just in time to see Chewbacca fire his crossbow at Kylo. The dark force user dropped to his knees as the shot hit him, and suddenly several blasts went off around them as Chewie detonated the explosives. Stormtroopers started firing at the four rebels and Kira started firing back. She ducked behind a corner for quick cover and peered back around for another look at her uncle's killer.

She thought Kylo Ren would look back at her with the same hatred that she was feeling through the Force from him. She was wielding so many emotions of disgust towards him she was sure he would. But all she got back was a shove of emotionless warning.

 _I'll deal with you later_.

For Kylo Ren only had eyes for one person at that moment. And Kira followed his gaze up...to Rey.

Kira had to duck behind her cover again as fire rang down on her. The troopers were firing relentlessly towards them as Chewbacca went on a killer rampage underneath her.

"Chewie!" she shouted to get his attention. She looked out again and noticed that Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren were all gone. "Enough! We have to get out before the Resistance blows this whole place!"

She heard his responding growl and moved closer to the railing to cover him as he climbed up.

"Agh!" she pulled her arm back as a blast grazed her shoulder. She fired back and sent the trooper responsible to the ground.

When Chewie joined her, they made their way back out into the cold with Artoo.

Over the noise of the battle she yelled, "We've gotta get to the Falcon!"

She ran behind the wookie and didn't look back.

* * *

"Falcon's this way!" Finn told Rey as they ran through the forest. But they both halted to a stop when they found Kylo Ren parked in front of them.

He was in pain; it was obvious. The wound in his side from Chewbacca's crossbow was dripping blood onto the snow.

"We're not done yet," he said matter-of-factly.

Fear ran through Rey. She didn't want to face him again. She just wanted to leave with Finn. She raised the blaster desperately, but was shoved back with so much might that she hit the ground hard and everything went dark.

* * *

 _She was in someone's embrace. A woman's. And it was warm, protective almost._

" _Listen to me," the woman said. "You have to stay here, you'll be safe."_

 _Rey was confused. She didn't want this person to leave._

" _I'll go and find them, and bring them back. I'll come back for you, Rey, but you have to stay here!"_

* * *

"Agghhhhh!"

Rey started to stir, and found that her whole body hurt. Slowly, she began to open her eyes and saw Kylo Ren slice into her friend's back with his lightsaber.

 _No_! she thought. When Finn went down, the lightsaber that had called her before flew through the air and landed in the snow.

Kylo Ren reached out in an attempt to grasp what he knew belonged to _him_. The saber began to shift, and then suddenly flew threw the air to its rightful owner.

Rey shook slightly as she turned to wield the saber. She had only half expected to get it. She didn't even know how she had done it, but something had willed her to. Looking a shocked Kylo Ren in the eyes, she moved her finger, and Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber hummed to life.

* * *

Kira thought that when she finally got to the Falcon she would feel a sense of relief. She was wrong.

The battle above them continued and the light outside was slowly disappearing. The Resistance was running out of time. They had a ship though! And not just any ship, but the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. They could help.

"Chewie, we-" Kira started but was cut off as a mysterious presence urged her to help. But it wasn't referring to the Resistance.

" _Go_ ," it said. " _Help them. Help her."_

"We need to get to Finn and Rey," she told Chewie.

"Do you know where they are?" he questioned her in shyriiwook.

Realizing that she didn't know where they were exactly, she closed her eyes and searched through the Force for that bright ember she had felt earlier. Upon finding the girl, Kira realized that something had changed. Rey was no longer an ember, but a bright burning flame.

"Yes," she said as she opened her eyes and moved toward the cockpit. She stumbled a bit as she arrived. She had not been on this ship since she was a little girl. And she had only ever known it to have one pilot. Sheepishly, she climbed into the co-pilot seat, not feeling worthy enough to fly the Falcon. Chewie sighed when she did and he himself slightly paused before he slid into the seat that belonged to his best friend.

* * *

Rey was getting tired, and Kylo was stronger, she knew. She wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer.

Kylo could feel her strength deteriorating through the Force. Actually, he could feel _everything_ about her through the Force. Something had happened between them, something he couldn't explain.

She was fighting with all of her strength, and frankly, he was impressed with her raw talent.

With the last bit of his strength, he stopped a swing of the blue blade with the Force using his outstretched hand, and Rey's face turned to panic.

"I told you," he said, gritting his teeth from pain. "I can take whatever I want."

And with a flick of his hand she collapsed, just like on Takodana. He turned off his blade and picked his family saber off the ground. Hooking both onto his belt, he turned to the girl lying unconscious on the ground. It was then that his comm went off.

"Ren," Hux's annoyed but slightly panicked voice came over his comm. "Where are you? The Supreme Leader requests that we return to his ship immediately."

Kylo kneeled down with difficulty, the wound in his side was throbbing, and pulled the girl into his arms. Making his way to where he knew the transport would be, he took one last look at this mysterious power.

Whoever this girl was, well it didn't really matter anymore. Because now, she belonged to _him._

* * *

Kira started directing Chewie through the trees to where she was sensing Rey. Rey and Kylo Ren. His presence was much too loud to ignore.

"Land here," Kira told the wookie, and got up to run to the ramp. However, she stopped in shock when the flame she was moving towards was suddenly put out.

"Oh no," she whispered and took off even faster, blaster in hand. She felt Chewie running behind her through the snowy forest. They were running out of time. They sky was now dark and trees were collapsing all around them. Either the Resistance or the First order had won and she didn't want to stick around to find out which one it was.

"Finn!" She called out. "Rey!"

Closing her eyes, she tried to sense them again. But could find neither Rey nor Kylo Ren. But she did find another life. And it was barely holding on. She took off in it's direction.

Finn was lying face down in the snow, and to Kira's horror his entire back had been sliced open by what had obviously been the work of a lightsaber.

"No, no, no!" she moaned as she quickly moved to his side. She felt Chewie run up just behind her as she felt his pulse.

"He's still alive, but barely," she told him. "We've gotta get him out of here."

She awkwardly helped Chewie lift Finn off the ground, and then they both headed back towards the Falcon. Chewie immediately ran up the ramp with Finn, but Kira turned back for just a split second.

Where was Rey?


End file.
